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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
Takarazuka Revue staged an adaptation of Twelfth Night in 1999 which was performed by the Moon Troupe at the Takarazuka Bow Hall, 7/17 – 7/27. The show was directed by Kimura Shinji. Read More
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 was staged in 1999 by the Takarazuka Revue Cosmos Troupe with performances at the Takarazuka Bow Hall, 9/4 – 9/12. The show was directed by Saitou Yoshimasa. Read More
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.
Romeo and Juliet ’99 was staged in 1999 by the Takarazuka Revue Flower Troupe with performances at the Takarazuka Bow Hall, 6/19 – 7/4. The show was directed by Ueda Keiko. Read More
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
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
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
“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
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.
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
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
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
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
Witty, playful and utterly magical, the story is a compelling romantic adventure in which Rosalind and Orlando’s celebrated courtship is played out against a backdrop of political rivalry, banishment and exile in the Forest of Arden – set in 19th-century Japan. Read More
