Week 10a-b: Post-Shingeki Theater: Suzuki Tadashi and Ninagawa Yukio a. Yukihiro Goto, "The Theatrical Fusion of Suzuki Tadashi" Asian Theatre Journal, Vol. 6, No. 2. (Autumn, 1989), pp. 103-123. Because we don't have playscripts for Suzuki Tadashi and Ninagawa Yukio, I'm focusing on their versions of Shakespeare's plays. We will watch Suzuki Tadashi's version of King Lear and Ninagawa's version of Hamlet. If you are not familiar with those plays, find a synopsis on the web to review the basic plot points! The article by Goto emphasizes connections between Suzuki Tadashi's development of a distinctive "post-modern" (post-shingeki) theatrical vision and form of training with traditional Japanese theater forms, especially Noh and Kabuki. READING QUESTIONS 1. What was Suzuki's original attitude towards traditional Japanese theater? Why did his attitude change? 2. According to Suzuki, what are the limitations of Kabuki, Noh, and Shingeki? How does Suzuki's theater overcome those limitations? 3. Goto argues that Suzuki borrows a variety of traditional theater techniques, listed below. To what extent do these seem like real influences? Why might Suzuki be claiming them? a. Suzuki uses two traditional compositional devices in composing his plays: honkadori (allusive variation) and sekai (historical/fantasy worlds). We've discussed honkadori in Noh (see Rhetorical Devices  on Allusion and Allusive variation) and we've discussed the use of sekai in Kabuki briefly in class (I'll go over it more). b. Dramatic structure: according to Goto why might the temporal structure of Suzuki's plays be considered "strongly traditional"? How do they differ from modern theater based on Ibsen and Stanislavsky? c. Movement and gesture: What kinds of movement kata from Noh and Kabuki does Goto discern in Suzuki's theater? How does the Suzuki training method seem reminiscent of traditional theater training methods (if at all)? How does it seem similar to, or different from Butoh training? Note that we'll see examples of the training in videos in class. d. Miscellaneous performance techniques: shomen engi (full-frontal performance style); katari (single performer's narration); murder sequences; music and dance 4. Suzuki claims that his theater reflects or comments on contemporary socio-cultural conditions, but is not "political." What do you think of this distinction? Why might Suzuki not want his theater to be called "political"? B. John Brokering, "Ninagawa Yukio's Intercultural Hamlet: Parsing Japanese Iconography," Asian Theatre Journal, vol. 24, no. 2 (Fall 2007), pp. 370-97. Brokering uses Ninagawa's 1998 production of Hamlet (performed both in Japan and at the Barbican in London) to analyse Ninagawa's relationship to western theater (especially Shakespeare) and how he uses "traditional" Japanese visual motifs and theater techniques, especially from Noh and Kabuki. 1. The opening section explains the historical context for Ninagawa's approach to Shakespeare, including his objections to Japanese imitation of Western realistic theater, and his interest in incorporating the energy and visual pleasure of traditional Japanese theater forms. 2. pp. 378-388: Pay special attention to the description of the hinadan (doll festival display) and how it is used visually in Ninagawa's Hamlet. 3. pp. 388-391: Brokering discusses Kabuki techniques that Ninagawa borrows for this production. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS THIS WEEK . . .