Japan at the Edinburgh International Festival, 9 August to 2 September 2012

Hanafuda Denki – A Tale of Fantastic Traditional Playing Cards, 12-18th August

This is a show that was written in the 60s by Shuji Terayama, the avant-garde director, poet, dramatist, photographer, writer and who knows what else.

A nihilistic musical comedy, it is set in an undertaker’s office in the Taisho period. The prevalent theme of death is placed in a humorous medium, with over-the-top costumes, music and dance.

This page outlines the plot, Shuji Terayama and even has clips of the show:

The company performing this work is the internationally renowned Ryuzanji theatre company.

Geisha-Samurai, 6-12th August

The plot is a mixture of Shoko Ito’s personal experience and a famous historical samurai’s. The play is a mix of comedy and serious drama, centring on a theme of the pursuit of happiness.

Shoko Ito has been a great success in previous festivals, so this should be a show to look forward to.

Fukushima – A Silent Prayer of Poetry, 15-19th August

This show makes use of a number of traditional Japanese influences, especially Noh theatre. It makes use of accompaniment from Hibiki Ichikawa, the renowned Tsugaru shamisen player. The show is made up of tweets from the Fukushima-based poet Ryoichi Wago after the earthquake on March 11th 2011. This heavily visual show also makes use of photos of the area at this time and will contain a 20 minute talk at the end.

Japanese TerminatoL,  2-14th, 16-26th August

This is a stand-up performance by Japanese comedian Hiroshi Shimizu (not the director).

This absurdist comic will be making use of audience interaction, parody, stories and slapstick. Notably, this is for 18+ only.

Merry Wives of Osaka, 13-18th August

This is a tale based on Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. A cheerful comedy, it is full of laughter and love.

This is performed in Japanese Osaka dialect by the Akagumi theatre company, who have been noted for their energy and passion in previous years at the festival.

Jishin, 3-27th August (not 8th, 14th or 21st)

Internationally known LAN-T003’s dance was strongly affected by the 2011 earthquake. The title means both ‘confidence’ and ‘earthquake’ and is in reference to this.

The performance has themes of transience and rebirth, seeing how the earthquake destroyed many things and how things recover afterwards. The dance is intended to cause both laughter and tears.

Gagaku, 22nd August

Possibly the most Japanese event at the festival, the ensemble performing these ancient ceremonial pieces is itself from the imperial household of Japan. The slow wind, strings and percussion has influences from the political, spiritual and religious traditions of Japan’s history. The dance, equally slow, is arresting in the control necessary and the extravagant costumes used. They will be performing both kangen and bugaku (with and without strings and dance). The visual beauty of the dance, costumes and décor together with the beauty of the music is an experience not to be missed, as this is their only performance in the UK.

Waiting for Orestes: Electra, 11-13th August

Euripides’ masterpiece Electra was reworked by Hofmannsthal in 1904, then in 1909 (with Strauss). This has been staged by Tadashi Suzuki (of the Suzuki acting method) with the Suzuki Company of Toga. With music by Midori Takada, this should be an exciting performance.

It will be performed in Japanese and Korean with English supertitles.

The strong presence of Japanese artists and culture at the festival this year was celebrated at the British embassy in Tokyo in April. Among the 47 nations and 3000 represented, Japan does indeed have a strong presence. The festival is a perfect opportunity to experience Japanese culture, both modern and traditional in various art forms, from dance to music to stand up to theatre.

More information can be found via this link.

Text by Orlando Byron (Fortismere School North London)