- フォーチュン (Fortune)
1/23/20 (Thurs), Tokyo
World premiere of a new takeoff on the Faust legend by UK playwright Simon Stephens. Continue reading
A Look Back: King Charles III
The ongoing real-life drama of “Prince Harry: The Prisoner of Markle” brought to mind the character Prince Harry in Mike Bartlett’s fascinating stage show some five years back, “King Charles III“, that speculated on the future of the monarchy after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. The show’s Harry is portrayed as uncomfortable with his royal role and willing at one point to give it all up, finding comfort in the arms of a fun-loving working-class woman. That notion has proved amazingly prescient in light of current events. I thought at the time that “history might make this [show] un-revivable”, but it now seems to be playing out in real time. This may put paid to the idea that God doesn’t write a good second act. It remains to be seen how this develops (the drama offers a hopeful ending), but I figured it was a good opportunity to look back at this remarkable piece. I wish New York and Tokyo could do political drama this well.
A Story of Floating Weeds (1934); Floating Weeds (1959)
- Floating Weeds (浮草, 1959), 12/1/19 (Sun)
- A Story of Floating Weeds (浮草物語, 1934), 12/10/19 (Tues)
I was set to see Ozu Yasujiro’s 1934 silent version of this film, so I figured I’d first check out his 1959 remake, which adds not only sound but color. They both proved very fine films, and despite a nearly identical composition and story progression, seeing them side by side was instructive. Continue reading
Noh: Hanjo, Yugyo Yanagi (班女、遊行柳)
- Noh: 班女、遊行柳 (Hanjo, Yugyo Yanagi)
11/17/19 (Sun), Umewaka Noh Theater (Tokyo)
The pamphlet for today’s two shows say that they share an ambiguous ending that is supposed to make us wonder what happens to the characters thereafter. Both are also steeped in references to Chinese poetry, and I noted that they each refer in passing to the ancient Shirakawa Barrier in Fukushima, an oft-used place name in poetry and Noh plays that is associated with autumn.
The Ball at Anjo House (安城家の舞踏会)
- 安城家の舞踏会 (The Ball at Anjo House)
10/27/19 (Sun)
Having recently seen the fun An Osaka Tale, I wanted to check out more of director Yoshimura Kozaburo’s work, and this was an obvious first stop. It is often held to be one of the finest of all Japanese films of the 1940s.
The 1947 film is a Chekhovian portrait of an aristocratic family unwilling to face their decline in postwar society. This is not a traditional Japanese household: it is a formerly titled family living in a palatial Western-style home with a father who studied painting in Paris, a son who plays classical piano and a daughter who (at least in the course of the film) wears only Western clothing. The family appears to have lived in the past mainly off its inherited wealth and property. But times have changed: it survived the war by borrowing money from a slimy businessman who profited in the munitions trade by using the family name, and is now facing collapse in the wake of land reforms, the abolition of the aristocracy and new taxes enforced by the Occupation government (still in power when the movie was made). Continue reading
A Look Back: Mary Poppins (West End)
I see where the stage version of Mary Poppins has returned to the West End to largely favorable reviews. It’s hard to know how it will fare given its unexpectedly short run last time around; three years would qualify as a hit for most shows, but hopes had been riding particularly high for Poppins given the potent title, family-friendly content and combined power of mega-producers Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, who must have thought they had another The Lion King or Phantom (respectively) on their hands. Still, it did well enough, and it’s no surprise to see them coming back for another try.
I was less taken by the show, at least in its original production, due to its ham-handed approach to the material. In trying to bring together the original British novels and Disney’s lighter film version, the show loses its way entirely. Continue reading
Rage (怒り)
- 怒り (Rage)
10/17/19 (Wed), Tokyo
Lee Sang-il’s 2018 film opens with the murder of an innocent couple in their own home by a drifter, who paints the character for “rage” (怒) on their wall before escaping. This is followed by three unrelated stories in Tokyo, Chiba and Okinawa featuring drifters who could all conceivably be the killer. The film is on the surface a suspense tale keeping us guessing which one is the villain, but its real theme involves the nature of trust and mistrust – “Doubt” would actually be a better title than “Rage”, which doesn’t quite make sense in context. Continue reading
An Osaka Tale (大阪物語)
- 大阪物語 (An Osaka Tale)
10/13/18 (Sun), Tokyo
A highly entertaining piece of 1957 devised by Mizoguchi Kenji from a 17th-century tale and ably taken over after his death by Yoshimura Kozaburo. It was reminiscent of Mizoguchi’s Chikamatsu Story: the lead was a stingy businessman ultimately undermined by his own stubbornness, and Kagawa Kyoko was a put-upon daughter who gets the poor clerk in the end. But this was a comedic approach to the material, which, though not as deep, worked wonderfully on its own terms.
Every Day a Good Day (日日是好日)
- 日日是好日 (Every Day a Good Day)
10/12/18 (Sat), Tokyo
A beautiful meditative film of 2018 whereby the tea ceremony (“the way of tea”) serves as a metaphor for several zen-based ideas: that the meaning of things becomes evident only over time, that we should feel rather than analyze, that we should enjoy every instant in life as an experience that will never occur again.
Carmen Comes Home (カルメン故郷に帰る)
- カルメン故郷に帰る (Carmen Comes Home)
10/11/18 (Fri), Tokyo
Kinoshita Keisuke’s hit film of 1951 was Japan’s first full-length color film, and the director reportedly created the plot around the need to film much of it outside for technical reasons. Continue reading
Madame Butterfly (Tokyo Nikikai)
- Madame Butterfly (Tokyo Nikikai)
10/6/19 (Sun), Tokyo
Veteran Japanese director Miyamoto Amon takes on the Puccini opera. Continue reading
Kabuki: An Actor’s Revenge (新版 雪之丞変化 )
- Kabuki: 新版 雪之丞変化 (An Actor’s Revenge)
8/26/19 (Mon), Tokyo Kabukiza
Based on the hit 1934 novel and its many adaptations, including a stage show, an opera, a Takarazuka spectacle, several TV versions and two hugely successful films (1935 and 1963) both starring Hasegawa Kazuo. The Japanese title this time is preceded by “shinpan” or new version, suggesting a significantly revised work. Tamasaburo takes on the part of Yukinojo, an onnagata female-role specialist seeking to avenge his parents’ murder, thus nominally playing a man (albeit dressed and acting throughout as a woman). This seemed a natural fit for Kabuki since the story is after all about Kabuki actors, offering plentiful opportunity for show-within-a-show snippets, and Tamasaburo himself is the most famous onnagata on the stage today. He has directed and adapted this production.
sekenbanashi 