Antony and Cleopatra (2011)

Ninagawa, Yukio 2011

Antony and Cleopatra, dir. Yukio Ninagawa (2011), the Sainokuni Shakespeare Company

Performed in Japanese at the Ion Keshōhin Theater Brava, Osaka, 28 October 2011

Performed in Japanese with Korean subtitles at the LG Arts Center, Seoul, 26 November 2011

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Taitasu Andoronikasu (Titus Andronicus)

Ninagawa, Yukio 2006

Taitasu Andoronikasu was performed in England in June 2006, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon and the Theatre Royal in Plymouth, United Kingdom. This production was directed by Yukio Ninagawa.

 

Reviews

Billington, Michael. Review of “Titus Andronicus,” The Guardian, 22 June 2006.

Curtin, Sean. Review of “Titus Andronicus,” The Japan Society.

Kirwan, Peter. “Titus Andronicus (Ninagawa Company) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre,” The Bardathon, University of Nottingham, 24 June 2006.

 

 

The Tempest

Ninagawa, Yukio 1992

The Tempest directed by Yukio Ninagawa was performed at the Barbican Theatre, London in 1992.

Credits

Director: Yukio Ninagawa
Translator: Yushi Odashima
Set Designer: Toshiaki Suzuki
Lighting: Tamotsu Harada

Cast

Sho Shinohara as Adrian
Makoto Yuasa Alonso as King of Naples
Yoshisada Sakaguchi as Antonio
Yukihiro Miyauchi as Boatswain
Hiroki Okawa as Caliban
Yoji Matsuda as Ceres/Ariel
Noriihiro Inoue as Ferdinand
Tatsumi Aoyama as Gonzalo
Hirokazu Aoyama as Iris
Tokusaburo Arashi as Juno
Yukio Tsukamoto as Master of a Ship
Mariko Fuji as Miranda
Haruhiko Joh as Prospero
Kazuhisa Seshimo as Sebastian
Goro Daimon as Stephano
Kenichi Ishii as Trinculo

Production stills taken by Donald Cooper are available through Photostage.

For more information, visit the RSC Performances archive of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

 

Shakespeare in Tempo Year 12

Ninagawa, Yukio 2005

Tenpou Juuninen no Shakespeare / Shakespeare of the Year 1841

 

Tanaka, Nobuko. “The Bard in abundance in Edo Japan.” The Japan Times, 22 September 2005.

After four hours rejoicing in my seat as I watched “Tempo 12-nen no Shakespeare (Shakespeare in the 12th year of Tempo)” at the Theatre Cocoon, had I been wearing one I would have taken off my hat to the team who delivered the marvelous, grand-scale production — director Yukio Ninagawa, writer Hisashi Inoue, music director Ryudo Uzaki and the entire, accomplished cast.

Beforehand, this production had always been one to look forward to, though I had worried whether such a deluxe lineup of talents would be able to combine successfully to realize their potential. But from the very start, it was obvious that the world-renowned 69-year-old Ninagawa had worked his magic on 70-year-old Inoue’s epic — a single play that combines all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays into one story. Read full article.

 

 

Pericles

Ninagawa, Yukio 2003

Commentary

Ninagawa’s Pericles opens with the sounds of an aerial bombardment and Ninagawa sets the play in a time after an unidentified war. This interpretation is refreshingly unconventional, since the play’s text does not explicitly include war. Early in Ninagawa’s career, he was a heavily political director of controversial new plays. Although he has moved to older material, Ninagawa still retains his desire to explore the themes of war, social unrest, and violent protests.

 

 

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Ninagawa, Yukio 1996

Translation Yushi Odashima

Cast

Takuya Miyawaki as Cobweb
Tetsushi Tanaka as Demetrius
Kazuhisa Seshimo as Egeus
Hansuo Yamaya as Francis Flute
Hiroko Yamashita as Helena
Miho Tsumiki as Hermia
Kayoko Shiraishi as Hippolyta/Titania
Keita Oishi as Lysander
Kazunori Aso as Moth
Masahiro Kazama as Mustardseed
Goro Daimon as Nick Bottom
Eiichi Seike and Kaoru Ota as Other Faries
Shiro Horikawa as Peaseblossom
Kenichi Ishii as Peter Quince
Yoji Matsuda as Philostrate
Yogi Matsuda as Puck
Ofuji as Snug
Tetsuro Sagawa as Theseus/Oberon
Masafumi Seno as Tom Snout

 

 

Macbeth

Ninagawa, Yukio 1985

Yukio Ninagawa’s iconic production of Macbeth in the Netherlands and U.K. in 1985 (premiered in Tokyo in 1980) Read More

As You Like It (Oki ni mesu mama)

Ninagawa, Yukio 2004

Oki ni mesu mama was directed by Yukio Ninagawa and performed at the Saitama at the Sai no kuni Saitama Geijutsu GekijoÌ in August 2004.

Cast

Narimiya Hiroki
Oguri Shun
Yoshida Kōtarō
Kanno Naoyuki
Takahashi Yō

Credits

Music – Kasamatsu Yasuhiro
Stage director – Shiraishi Eisuke

 

 

Coriolanus (Korioreinasu)

Ninagawa, Yukio 2007

Coriolanus (Korioreinasu) was performed at the Barbican Theatre in London 2007.

Cast

Toshiaki Caracara as Coriolanus
Masanobu Katsumura as Aufidius
Kotaro Yoshida as Menenius

Crew

Choreography – Masahiro Kunii
Set Designer – Tsukasa Nakagoshi,
Costume Designer – Lily Komine
Lighting Designer – Tamotsu Harada