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Moore – a Pacific Island Othello

Richter, Kepano (Stephen); Taft Mattos, Justina 2020

MOORE – a Pacific Island Othello is a retelling of Shakespeare’s Othello, set in the Pacific Islands at the crossroads of Race, Language, and American Empire. Directed by Justina Taft Mattos at the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s Performing Arts Center, the live-stream premiere of the production ran for 1 hour and 48 minutes at 2:00 PM and was performed in English, Japanese, Korean, and ‘Ōlelo Hawai’i on November 1st, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no physical audience in the theater space. The entire production was filmed incorporating the state of Hawaii’s COVID-19 safety protocols: masks, social distancing, and assigning “Ohana bubbles” to actors having physical contact with each other. With the impending 2020 presidential election, rising social unrest, and our present reckoning about systemic racism in the United States, we felt it was high time to revisit Othello and examine what the play means here and now in America on the 416th anniversary of the first recorded performance of Shakespeare’s play. Read More

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Hamlet

Kurita, Yoshihiro 2007

This 2007 production of Hamlet directed by Yoshihiro Kurita relies on elements of traditional noh theatre and the epic story-telling tradition of Japan to re-imagine Shakespeare’s play. The Hamlet character remains seated at the front of the stage throughout the performance while delivering his lines. Read More

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The Tale of Lear

Suzuki, Tadashi 1988

The Tale of Lear, directed by Tadashi Suzuki whose experimental and provocative Trojan Women received critical acclaim at the 1986 Chicago International Theatre Festival Read More

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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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Ur-Hamlet

Barba, Eugenio 2006

Ur-Hamlet is a multicultural project by Odin Teatret: a performance that brings together the Odin Teatret ensemble, a group of actor-dancers from Bali, Japan, Brazil, musicians from different parts of the world, and a long-term pedagogical project for young trainees from all over the world. Read More

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Lear Dreaming

Ong, Keng Sen 2012

Performed in Bahasa Indonesia, Japanese, Mandarin and Korean with English subtitles. Fifteen years after 1997, Ong Keng Sen revisits his Lear to create a new performance, distilled and visionary, entering one man’s mind, a past king and his memories: Lear Dreaming. Read More

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Macbeth

Kurita, Yoshihiro 2006

Ryutopia Noh Theatre (Niigata): 31/1/06-3/2/06, Umewaka Noh Theatre (Tokyo): 4/2/06-12/2/06, Nagoya Noh Theatre (Nagoya): 14/2/06-15/2/06 Read More

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Macbeth

Kurita, Yoshihiro 2007

Ryutopia Noh Theatre (Niigata): 29/3/07-31/3/07 (In the memory of Niigata City, becoming the ordinance-designed city), National Noh Theatre (Tokyo): 3/4/07-5/4/07 (In the memory of Niigata City, becoming the ordinance-designed city) Read More

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The Winter’s Tale (International Version)

Kurita, Yoshihiro 2008

In 2008, Ryutopia’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale directed by Kurita Yoshihiro went on an international tour and was performed at Shakespeare festivals in Romania, Hungary, Poland and Germany. Read More

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The Winter’s Tale -Barcarolle-

Kurita, Yoshihiro 2005

In 2005, Ryutopia debutted its adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale at the Niigata City Performing Arts Center. This production directed by Kurita Yoshihiro went on an international tour in 2008 and was performed at Shakespeare festivals in Romania, Hungary, Poland and Germany. Read More

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Macbeth

Kurita, Yoshihiro 2004

23/5/04-30/5/04 – Ryutopia Noh Theatre, Niigata, Japan and 5/6/04-6/6/04 – Tessenkai Noh Theatre, Tokyo, Japan Read More

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Timon of Athens

Deguchi, Norio 1996

Performance dates: 10/1/1996-16/11/1996

Performers: Timon: Yoshida Kotaro, Flavius: Uzawa Hideyuki, Alcibiades: Otsuka Eiichi, Apemantus: Hosoya Ken, and Lucius: Yoshizawa Ken

Translator / Scriptwriter: Odashima Yushi

Producer: Shakespeare Theatre

Designers: Lighting Designer: Omura Yoshiaki, Set Designer: Kuramoto Masanori, Costume Designer: Higuchi Ai, Music Composition: Fukushima Kazuyuki, and Sound: Toyoguchi Kenji

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Midsummer Night’s Dream

Miwa, Elica 2006

This production of Midsummer Night’s Dream was directed by Miwa Elica in 2006 and produced by the Theatre Company Subaru. The script was written Fukuda Tsuneari. Read More

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The Winter’s Tale (Bow Shakepeare Series #1)

Kodama, Akiko 1999

Takarazuka Revue staged an adaptation of The Winter’s Tale in 1999-2000 which was performed by the Flower Troupe at the Takarazuka Bow Hall, 3/4 – 3/14 and 1/28 – 2/6, and at the Nippon Seinenkan Hall, 2/12 – 2/18. The show was directed by Kodama Akiko. Read More

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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.

 

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

 

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Broken English

Nicholas, Gregor 1996

Set in Auckland, New Zealand, Broken English is a film inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and directed by Gregor Nicolas.

Many years ago, Ivan (Rade Serbedzija) fled his native Bosnia, which had broken out in war, for New Zealand. Although he has adjusted to his new home, where he works as a drug runner, he’s distrustful of his Maori neighbors. In part to anger him, Nina (Aleksandra Vujcic), one of his daughters, enters into a green-card marriage with a Chinese immigrant (Yang Li) while also dating Eddie (Julian Arahanga), a Maori cook. Ivan’s rage soon poses a threat to Nina and Eddie’s happiness.

Cast

Aleksandra Vujčić as Nina
Julian Arahanga as Eddie
Rade Šerbedžija as Ivan
Marton Csokas as Darko
Madeline McNamara as Mira
Jing Zhao as Clara
Li Yang as Wu
Elizabeth Mavric as Vanya
Temuera Morrison as Manu

For more information, visit IMDb and Wikipedia.

 

 

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University of Laughs (Warai no daigaku)

Mamoru, Hoshi 2004

University of Laughs (Warai no Daigaku) is a story by Japanese dramatist Kōki Mitani which began as a play in 1996 starring actors Masahiko Nishimura as the Censor and Yoshimasa Kondo as the Playwright. The play won the Best Play Award at the 1996 Yomiuri Theater Awards. Read More

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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.

 

 

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Othello

Miyagi, Satoshi 2005 | 2 Comments

Cyprus was the setting. A waki (common man, here a Venetian pilgrim) is saddened to see the island under Turkish rule, with Venetian women enslaved by the conquerors. He meets the wandering shites (ghosts) of Desdemona and Othello. Heaven is shut to them. But narrating their experience to the waki cuts away their earthly shackles, sorrow and guilt. The detailing of their catastrophe becomes a community ritual leading to catharsis, repose and liberation. Read More

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Puck (Midsummer Night’s Dream)

Koike, Shuuichirou 1992

Puck is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream staged in 1992 by the Moon troupe with performances at the Grand Theater, 7/3 – 8/18 and the Tokyo Theater, 11/2 -11/27. The show was directed by Koike Shuuichirou. Read More

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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

 

 

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Metal Macbeth

Inoue, Hidenori 2006

“A metal band in the 80’s and a Mad Max-like near future intermingle in an eye-opening “New Macbeth”! In the year 2206, after innumerable slayings and destructions, a heath littered with dead bodies and rubble was left. Three eerie witches manifest themselves in front of an invincible General Randomstar that ESP Kingdom is proud of. They leave a prophecy saying, “All of your future is scripted in this compact disc”. It was a CD made by a heavy metal band named “Metal Macbeth” whose prime was in the 80s”. Read More

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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

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Noh Macbeth

Izumi, Noriko 2006

The noh Macbeth production was created by professional Noh actors, to be performed for people who already understand the Noh conventions. It was not an experimental fusion theatre targeting Shakespeare scholars who are unfamiliar with Japanese classics. Not all Japanese people can read the Noh scripts either.

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Ran

Kurosawa, Akira 1985

Ran (乱, transl. “chaos” or “turmoil”) is a 1985 epic war drama film directed, edited and co-written by Akira Kurosawa. The plot derives from William Shakespeare’s King Lear and includes segments based on legends of the daimyō Mōri Motonari. The film stars Tatsuya Nakadai as Hidetora Ichimonji, an aging Sengoku-period warlord who decides to abdicate as ruler in favor of his three sons. Read More

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Lear

Ong, Keng Sen 1997 | One Comment

Ong Keng Sen’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s King Lear brings artists from Japan, Thailand, China and Indonesia to work together on this intercultural and collaborative piece that toured Asia & Europe. Read More

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Akatsuki no rooma (Rome at Dawn)

Kimura, Shinji 2006

Akatsuki no rooma (Rome at Dawn) is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar staged in 2006 by the Takarazuka Revue Moon Troupe with performances at the Takarazuka Grand Theater, 5/12 – 6/19 and the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater, 7/7 – 8/20. The show was directed by Kimura Shinji. Read More

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Hamlet

Kent, Jonathan 2003

A short note about this production of Hamlet:

Hamlet is an all male production. The male characters wear Eighties sci-fi gear, while Ophelia wafts about in a polka-dotted kimono.

Cast

Nomura Mansai as Hamlet
Shinobu Nakamura as Ophelia
Eisuke Sasai as Gertrude

Crew

Director – Jonathan Kent
Production designer – Paul Brown

 

 

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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

 

 

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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