Little Update

Within a week of arriving here I had a ticket to see my first Noh production but I was unable to go due to an unexpected meeting. Last week, feeling the need to see soemthing, whatever it might be, I ended up with a ticket to see Les Miserables, the ballet.

This was every bit as bad as it sounds, from the very moment the 30-strong corps de ballet pattered on stage as feisty French fisherwomen. The music appeared to be a specially composed score which veered horribly from orchestral Berlioz for the strident parts to Shostakovichian piano for the frivolous moments, with scenes of high-emotion danced to a warbling Celtic soprano who can only have been inspired by Enya. The choreography was one long enchainment of cliche. If I had had a yen for each time Valjean and Javert clutched their heads in despair/frustration, I might even have clawed back the mighty cost of the seat.

What makes the outing even more frustrating in retrospect is that playing at the same time in Tokyo was a French production of a Moliere I had been ever so keen to see. The daily grind of school and the lack of Internet meant I had completely lost track of the date and I missed the run completely. The play was being performed with life-size marionettes by a highly-regarded French puppeteer and I am gutted not to have seen it.

I eventually returned to the National Noh Theatre to try and pick up some more tickets only to find that all the productions are now sold out until Christmas. The only seats available were for a production of classical Japanese dance which I went to yesterday with Tom. Japanese dance is rich in symbolism (most obviosuly various complex manipulations of fans) but lacking in much accessible aesthetic/artistic value. It was interesting to see but no great theatrical experience for someone not in the know.

Most intriguing was one long set which was more than a little reminiscent of morris dancing: six dancers adorned with bells who danced in various morris patterns (albeit at quarter speed and devoid of joy). They even danced 'on' and 'off' and had one dance which featured those little tasselled sticks. Unfortunately there were no subtitles for the lyrics so it was hard to decipher what was going on although we were informed that one piece was "danced to a song describing the act of collecting sea-water in a bucket". Watching the dance itself was more akin to collecting sea-water in a sieve.

The second half was quite terrific, however, featuring a performance of Kyogen which is a particular style of Japanese drama. This was subtitled and the stillness in both poetry and performance was very fine. The semi-sung delivery was enchanting and it was very rewarding to pick up a few words here and there that I could actually understand. (Very few, mind, and mainly things like please and thank you. Still...) This is exactly the kind of drama I had hoped to see out here so I am extremely glad to have gone. It has already given me some thoughts.

I have signed up for Internet at home but it will take about a fortnight for them to turn it on which is rather tedious.