Kyoto performance reviews

Once in an eternity   April 12, 2012 Alti Fumin Hall   An Evening With(out) Senrei There are many “once-in-a-lifetime” performances in Japan. A typical noh play will be performed only once by the shite; even if repeated, the ensemble of chorus and musicians, waki and kyogen will vary. The cost of renting hall and costumes, wigs and dressers, and musicians’ fees and gaining an audience for the many recitals of nihonbuyo happen only once. And actors from all traditions might greet a fushime milestone with a special “one-time only” performance to celebrate a kanreki (60) or 88 th birthday.             But I’ve never seen a posthumous once-in-an-eternity performance until last night. Nishikawa Senrei, beloved teacher and creative force for 30 years in Kyoto’s conservative buyo world, produced another “evening with Senrei” where as usual she designed the costumes, story, choreography, and musical accompa...

Shimin Kyogen Dec 7 th ; Hanagata Kyogen Dec 21-23 With Sennojo’s passing, the Shigeyamas seem to be in a holding pattern. They follow through with their varied performances, continue to give solid, funny, individually-inflected shows, and attract their loyal fans. But there are no wild experiments, no changes from twenty years ago, not attempts to expand kyogen potential.   1Big Projects, newsmaking events and special restorations are rarely to be seen. Same old, same old, sometimes with tweaks not for the better. The shimin (civic) kyogen, a 4/year city-sponsored kyogen-only program has been going for over 40 years. Inexpensive seats (once geared towards cinema tickets, now twice that), unusual plays, and stakeholding public (I once saw a vehement claim that the photographer’s pachipachi sounds were disturbing them!). But recently, the shows have shifted to four plays in a row, rather than the 15 minute pre-show lecture performed so ably by Sennojo, a m...

Senrei Nishikawa  is gone, master artist and teacher On December 6, Senrei Nishikawa passed away. I had not seen her for over a year. She was sick, but apparently in good spirits, spending her time in the mountain home she loved, in northwest Kyoto.             Her manager Takae Hoshino only informed the world ten days later, enough time to prepare for the non-funeral home-visit. The path next to her house led to a lovely bamboo garden, low benches and even a heater for those waiting to enter a 4 tatami room and view the photo, urn, and sign a mourner’s book. Takae, looking worn and grateful, greeted visitors, who streamed in by twos and threes while I was there. The photo, Senrei looking hopefully in profile, in pastel kimono, and urn-bag embroidered were chosen by Sensei: a director to the end. I lit some incense and thanked her for her art and friendship. T.T.T. teacher       ...

The Graduate In the Fall of 1977 I was considering my options after graduation. Having been gone the previous spring to London, I fell into senior year with the excitement of renewing acquaintances (and a fantastic corner dormsuite), but less lead-time to the end of College days than others. Suddenly everyone around me seemed to be talking a bewildering alphabet soup of tests: MBA, GRE, MCAT, etc… or interviewing at grown-up companies like Hewlett-Packard. Doing good in the world? Sure, but we want to get paid for it, seemed to be the general drift. I felt like the game I had been playing seriously for the last three years turned out to only a training camp for the Future, whereas I thought it was the aim itself. Then I became aware of a program that appealed to my instincts to wander the world, see lots of art and music and theatre, and hone my craft as theatre critic and director. The Watson Fellowship allows undergraduates at select colleges to wander the world with a blank check,...

Kyogen's demise is constantly exaggerated. In the shadow of noh for centuries, kyogen began performing all-kyogen shows at ladies' clubs and festivals with increased frequency before the Pacific War. Then after the war, an upsurge in amateur students at home lessons and culture centers, university clubs and theatre companies, created large fan clubs for the big families like the Nomuras and in Kyoto, the Shigeyamas. NHK child stardom (Ippei Shigeyama) and teen acting (Nomura Mansai) led to more opportunities, new audiences, stretching the limits of the traditional world. Izumi Motohide fell from grace, paarental hubris and lack of respect to the powerful iemoto traditions. Female performers flared and spluttered. The bubble economy burst and people cut back on their theatre practice and viewing. And yet. This past month, not a very active one in the Japanese theatre calendar traditionally, I've seen a rakugo performer pair with a kyogen actor (each did their own genre, then...

Passing of my hero Sennojo SHigeyama, a great teacher, actor, and director passed away today. He was 88, and had last performed Oct 8th at the Shigeyama annual recital as a 99 year-old lecherous but cute old man. He will be missed. Sennojo was a child prodigy, making his stage debut at three years old, then performing at many events at department stores and festivals with his older brother,Senaku, still going, if not so strongly, at 91. But as the second son, he was not planning on a full-time kyogen career during pre-War Japan, so went to a commercial college, then learned to do accounting for Comfort Women stations and other facilities in Manchuria. On his return, he began his lifelong incredulity with the authorities and the press, who had lied so long and well about Japanese military successes abroad. While performing on weekends, he entered the black-market, then one day discovered a fox mask in an antique store, which led him back to kyogen full-time. His brother and he became kn...

Yume kara sameta yume Dream after dream Feb 4 2009 Much as I usually find too much to dislike about the ubiquitous Shiki Theatre Company—the canned music, hammy acting, conservative choreography, too-perfect smiles, cutesy girls and macho-elegant boys—they are at their best when creating their own works. Beauty & the Beast and Evita, while thrillingly live in NYC or London, appear energetic re-treads here, lacking stars or the rough magic that seeps through the professional polish. Shiki’s (re)productions of Disney or Rice always gleam with slick staging and sound and light, but at least to my mind they leave little after-taste. The Two Lottes, Yuta and the Funny Wind, and Ann of Green Gables were, however, inventive, original, musicals taking full advantage of the child-like wonderland that is Shiki’s special corner of the musical market. So my anticipation was happily rewarded with Yume kara sameta yume (From dream to waking dream), less Lorca than Lerner & Lowe. The story...