Authenticity. Dialogue. Transformation
Noh Reimagined is an imaginative platform for living tradition and creative encounter.
It is dedicated to reawakening the power of Noh—Japan’s 650-year-old theatre tradition—as a source of inspiration for today’s artists and audiences.
Founded and curated by Akiko Yanagisawa, Noh Reimagined is more than a festival. It is a project encompassing commissions, artist residencies, research and development, workshops, and public engagement.
Noh Reimagined explores how this ancient art form—through its rich language of movement, sound, poetry, and symbolism—can speak to contemporary themes such as memory, nature, time, loss, and transformation.
Cross-Cultural Creation at the Intersection of Tradition and Contemporary Art
Noh Reimagined commissions and produces interdisciplinary works that unite world-class Noh performers with innovative artists from across the globe.
Drawing on over a decade of experience in leading arts festivals and collaborative projects, we have partnered with prestigious organisations including Kings Place, Clod Ensemble, Sound and Music, The Place, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, and Britten Pears Arts.
Our collaborators include visionary artists such as visual artist Cerith Wyn Evans, composers Ben Nobuto and Hollie Harding, musicians Evan Parker and David Toop, and the acclaimed queer dance company Thick & Tight.
Thanks to these valuable supports Noh Reimagined has achieved so far:
- 15 new commissions, premiered in the UK and Japan— created through collaborations across dance, music, visual arts, and even neuroscience
- Over 50 UK artists from diverse disciplines participated.
- Performances and events attended by over 12,000 people
- More than 1,000 participants in workshops and learning programmes
- International performances in London, Birmingham, Sheffield, Rome, Madrid, Tokyo, and at Suffolk’s world-renowned Aldeburgh Festival
- We received good reviews from media, including 5 star reviews from major media-
“..the universality of grief needs no translation” ★★★★★ The Guardian
“I cannot praise this two day festival enough” ★★★★★ Planet Hugil
“Absolutely enjoyable — from classic Noh to exciting fusion, talks, and workshops!” — Noh Reimagined 2024 audience member
Commissioned artists praise the project:
“Noh Reimagined holds significant potential to influence British contemporary artists.” — Ben Nobuto, composer.
“I cannot praise this two-day festival enough” ★★★★★
Planet Huggil
“Noh Reimagined festival featured extracts from traditional plays, introductory talks and workshops about elements of the artform (varying from a basic demonstration about its movement style to the relationship between neuroscientific research and Noh practice), and contemporary works inspired by Noh. The festival placed these all on one plane, and in so doing emphasises the ambitious and new, while never diminishing the traditional. Each element helped to illuminate every other.”
The Journal of Music
