• Taira Jo: Puppet Salome (たいらじょう「サロメ」)

1/20/19 (Sun), Tokyo

Salome was the final show in Taira’s trilogy of puppets and classical music after Medea (2014) and Hamlet (2016) – he seems to have something for crazy women. He was performing as in that latter piece with the wonderful young cellist Miyata Dai, who arranged the music and led a four-man group with harp, contrabass and oboe/English horn.

Taira as always played and voiced all roles, though he had only seven this time (compared to 21 in the last piece I saw), including one who offs himself early on. The script is based on the affected Oscar Wilde play and inherits that show’s self indulgence. The dialogue, as per the original, was overwrought even as rewritten (or creatively translated) by Taira, causing the production to drag in places. The show felt like a Mishima piece where the characters babble endlessly for the sake of babbling. That might sound good in the original French but is irritating in English (which I assume was the source for this production) and not much better here. Less would have been more; Taira should seriously consider paring this down to size.

Still, his energy is infectious, and the puppets actually improve on humans in some ways by making the overripe fantasy elements easier to accept. Many parts, such as all the staring referred to in the text, are better imagined than acted (or overacted) out. While Taira didn’t hold back on the Kabuki-like histrionics, for better or worse, he did come through with a thrilling Dance of the Veils to close out the first act, with Salome shedding her old veils as new ones were seamlessly supplied (with the help of the hooded kurogo assistants) in a beautifully choreographed piece. The presentation of John’s head on the silver tray was memorable as well, showing roses dripping from the severed head in a creepy evocation both of blood and Salome’s feelings. Physically the show was superbly realized throughout.

The real highlight was the music, carefully curated by Miyata. He stitched together some 21 pieces of classical tunes from Bach to Shostakovich in accordance with the mood of the scenes. He made some unexpected choices, such as a light number for the execution scene, that contributed immeasurably to the drama. It was rendered expertly by the small group. The Dance of the Veils was performed, perhaps inevitably, to the melody from Strauss’s opera (which in Japan is in the public domain).

One curious point. At the end, after Taira runs around waving the usual butterflies that appear in most of his works, the dead Salome was given what seemed to be a crown of thorns, which I thought an interesting variation. But the creators mentioned offhandedly in an after-show talk that this was actually supposed to be a halo, making her an angel. Miyata said he cried at that touch, which he claims presents her as a good woman instead of the usual portrayal as a vamp getting her just desserts. That is, she’s forgiven somehow for having an innocent man murdered and mutilated. Taira mentioned as well in the program notes that he felt the theme of the show was the purity of female love, which he saw exemplified by Salome. Really? That didn’t come across in the production and makes no sense at all in context. Rethink, please.

The set was a Mr Rogers-type toy castle covered with colorful panels and topped by a paper moon, which played well off the sometimes leaden material. Lighting effects were used sparingly but effectively. The puppets were also nicely Spartan, especially the interestingly featured heads that moved separately from, albeit in close proximity to, the body. As before, Taira was miked despite the excellent acoustics – this is one of Tokyo’s prime concert halls – in apparent concern for the balance between his voice and the orchestra. That again made it hard to know sometimes where the voice was coming from and sounded mechanical at times, maybe also a function of poor sound design. Voice is obviously a critical element in a puppet play, and I do wish Taira could work this out.

Still, while the show had its flaws, many of which are built into the text, it was certainly presented in style. Moreover, as noted, the use of puppets contributes greatly to scenes that don’t benefit from realism. Taira’s shows always have something to offer, and that remains true here. If he could just trim the two-and-a-half-hour running time to two hours or less, it would help tremendously.