Kabuki 1, © Heisei Nakamura-za. |
A Summer Festival in Berlin of Kubuki Theatre from Osaka |
Kabuki 3, © Kishin Shinoya. |
Haus der Kulturen der Welt Heisei Nakamura-za gives a guest performance of traditional Japanese theatre at the House of World Cultures. Following guest performances in New York, he now presents Summer Festival: A Mirror of Osaka for the very first time in Europe — with popular theatre of the highest aesthetic quality. This is what Kabuki has stood for ever since Nakamura Kanzaburo, the Japanese star actor and director of the 118-year-old Tokyo theatre (representing the 18th generation of a theatre dynasty), embraced this tradition, changing it in the process. For over 400 years, the ritualised forms of performance have been handed down from father to son. Successful film and television actor Nakamura Kanzaburo has devoted his life to introducing Kabuki to the age of mangas and animés and to audiences across the globe. He successfully combines opulent images and brilliant acting with slapstick, high tension and surprising incursions of reality. "Theater that keeps the adrenaline pumping," wrote the New York Times in its review of the guest performances, which were crowned with success. In Japan, Nakamura Kanzaburo is revered for his art: as a "National Living Treasury" deserving the highest form of respect, and as a theatre legend. His performances at the Theater Kabuki-za are sold out months in advance; Japanese tourist parties accompany him on his tours. The family tradition continues unbroken: his son, Nakamura Shichinosuke, who plays alongside Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai, will be sharing the stage with him in Berlin. Summer Festival: A Mirror of Osaka finally celebrates its European premiere at the House of World Cultures. The cost and effort are enormous: the opulent sets and costumes, together with the equipment, were shipped from Tokyo to Berlin in five 40-ft. containers. The stage at the HWC will be transformed into a traditional Edo theatre. One-hundred-and four of the theatre ensemble’s actors and technicians will be in Berlin, and 20 take the stage. In keeping with tradition, the women’s roles will be played by men: the costumes and the masks are an art in themselves. The piece, first performed as puppet theatre in 1745, deals with a fishmonger who fights for his honour. Against the backdrop of a splendid historical pageant, an increasingly bloody tragedy unfolds. As a form of popular theatre, Kabuki must constantly hold its audience’s attention. To this end, the actors interrupt the play to increase the tension. And the fact that they use anti-illusionist techniques that appear in advanced, post-dramatic theatre is a remarkable turnabout in theatre history. Brecht was a great admirer of Kabuki. Character study, stage event, carnival, and street theatre in one – Heisei Nakamura-za’s guest performance promises to be a unique Kabuki experience! |
Kabuki 2, © Heisei Nakamura-za. |
