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  • What’s On
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  • About
    • About Noh Reimagined
    • Meet the Noh Performers
  • What is Noh?
    • Introduction to Noh
    • Universal Messages of Noh
    • Noh, an art of contrasts
  • Festivals
    • All Festivals
    • Noh Reimagined Festival 2024: Classics of Noh Tragedy
    • Noh Reimagined 2022: Spirits of Flowers
    • Noh Reimagined 2018: Sublime Illusions
    • Noh Reimagined 2016
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    • Video – 2024
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Noh Reimagined

Noh Reimagined 2018: The Sublime Illusions of Mugen Noh (Phantasmal Noh) .

Noh Reimagined 2018 shed light on the unique dramaturgy of Mugen  Noh, in which the main actor (shite) appears as a ghost in the dream of a travelling monk performed by the supporting actor (waki). The ghost then tells the tragic story of its past life, expressing  regret and lamentations, hoping to find peace. The highlight of the Sublime Illusion of Mugen Noh included the followings;

– The eternal masterpiece of Mugen Noh, “Izutsu (The Well Cradle)”, written by Noh playwright and actor Zeami(1363–1443), performed by top six Noh performers from Japan.

 –  Noh + Neuroscience: Glimpsing the Invisible:Professor Semir Zeki, a pioneer of neuroaesthetics, talked  about the objectivity of subjective states. When a white object is set against a white background and illuminated with projections, for example, we see coloured shadows that are not really there. Zeki  demonstrated the power of the mind to conjure these coloured shadows, working in collaboration with Noh performers, so audiences will experience reality and illusion at the same time.
Professor Atsushi Iriki of the Riken Institute in Japan will present his research into the notion of Riken-no-ken, a concept from a text by the Noh master Zeami, which refers to the ability of Noh actors to separate themselves from their bodies and their performances in order to judge their technique objectively.

– Clod Ensemble, the London based multi-award winning performance company,  presented the ambitious commissioned work “The Snow” , a new piece inspired by the restless female spirits and demonic figures of Noh theatre. 


– “Echoes and Callings”; A photo performance artist Wiebke Leister and sound artist David Toop  worked with improvised sound and photographs of life-casts and death-masks to express the out-of-body experience of Hannya (a Noh mask representing a jealous female demon). 

In “Space in Between”, Leon Michener, the architect of the Klavikon system,  sculpted the feedback he creates by amplifying a piano’s soundboard, then using the space between the piano and the audience. Two as an ascetic counterpoint to the music created by two Noh performers.

The arts and science installation “Phenotypica”  an initiative created by multi-award winning artist Neus Torres Tamarit and computer scientist Ben Murray was installed in the Kings Place flyer space.  They exhibited the installations and sculptures of their Biomorpha (Evolving Structures) project and a site-specific installation called Confined Mutations at Kings Place.

In the seminar Noh Mask, Noh Movement: Illusory Devices,Professor Reiko Yamanaka, and Professor Keizo Miyamototwo from the Noh Theatre Research Institute of Hosei University unveiled the secrets of Noh movement through narrative and scientific analyses, discussing how Noh masks represent the spirits of ghost, deities and demons.

  • Fri 29 June – Sublime Illusions Programme
  • Fri 30 June – Transformative Power of Noh Programme
  • “Into the Dream Time” : Interview with Akiko Yanagisawa, Kings Place What’s On magazine, January 2018

Top Noh performers from Japan worked with innovative British artists and neuroscientists in genre-defying collaborations to examine the surreal artistic elements of Noh. The festival explored time, space and symbolism in Noh theatre through interdisciplinary performances, workshops and talks.

Noh Reimagined 2018 connected the sublime illusions and transformative power of Noh’s 650-year-old tradition with the creative energy of contemporary arts and culture, posing new questions about who we are.

Noh Reimagined 2018, Madrid

Performances by leading Noh performers also took place at Teatro Salón Cervantes Escenarios Clásicos en Alcalá, Madrid, Spain on Wednesday 4th July 2018.

  • 4 July – Teatro Noh: Izutsu, Shakkyo y Otras Piezas Programme (Spanish)
  • Noh Reimagined Madrid listing information (Spanish)

Festival Organisers and Partners

Curated and produced by mu:arts and International Noh Project Committee, Tokyo in partnership with Kings Place, Japan Foundation and the Noh Theatre Research Institute, Hosei University.

Sponsored and supported by

Arts Council England, Arts Council Tokyo, The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and Yakult.

"Noh Reimagined 2018: The Sublime Illusions of Mugen Noh (Phantasmal Noh) ."
Festival Programme

Noh Reimagined – Opening Talk

FRI 29 JUN 2018 6–7pm

Two leading neuroscientists, Professor Zeki and Professor Iriki, discuss the connections between the brain and Noh, followed by an introduction to Mugen Noh by Prof Yamanaka, the director of the Noh Theatre Research Institute, Hosei University.

Event Details

The Sublime Illusions of Mugen Noh

FRI 29 JUN 2018 7.30–9.30pm

Six leading Noh performers present highlights from a masterpiece of Mugen Noh, ‘Izutsu’ (‘The Well Cradle’), along with some of the finest instrumental and dance sections from the classical Noh repertoire.

Event Details

Noh: Space in Between

Fri 29 Jun 2018 – 9.45pm

An evening of mind-bending musical exploration with pianist Leon Michener, nohkan flautist Yukihiro Isso and Noh percussionists. using the space between the piano and the auditorium as a counterpoint to traditional Noh music.

Event Details

Phenotypica – Installation

FRI 29 JUN - SAT 30 JUN 2018

An installation at the intersection between art, science and technology will be exhibited by Phenotypica, an initiative created by multi-award winning artist Neus Torres Tamarit and computer scientist Ben Murray.

Event Details

Noh Movement Workshop: Acting from Inside

SAT 30 JUN 2018 12–1.10pm

Come and learn the movement patterns of Noh, including how to focus your centre of gravity and energy. Participants will turn these basic movements into a series of fluid motions that enable subtle emotional expression.

Event Details

Noh Mask, Noh Movement: Illusory Devices – Seminar

SAT 30 JUN 2–3.30pm

Two professors from the Noh Theatre Research Institute, Hosei University unveil the secrets of Noh movement through narrative and scientific analyses and discuss how Noh masks represent the spirits of invisible ghosts, deities and demons.

Event Details

Talk and Presentation – Noh + Neuroscience: Glimpsing the Invisible

SAT 30 JUN 2018 4–5.30pm

A Noh demonstration with special stage lighting designed by Professor Zeki, drawing on his knowledge of colour vision. Professor Iriki talks about how Noh actors learn to judge their performances objectively in reference to neuroscience.

Event Details

Clod Ensemble: The Creative Journey – Pre-Show Talk

SAT 30 JUN 2018 6.30–7.10pm

Artistic directors Suzy Willson and Paul Clark discuss the creative process behind their new piece, including a recent research trip to Japan. Snow, which is inspired by the restless spirits of Noh theatre, will be premiered in the evening.

Event Details

The Transformative Power of Noh

SAT 30 JUN 2018 7.30–9.30pm

Performances include the ‘lion dance’ from the celebrated classical Noh piece Shakkyo, premieres of Noh-inspired works by Wiebke Leister with David Toop and Clod Ensemble, and a new piece by Yukihiro Isso that is influenced by neuroscience.

Event Details

Teatro Noh: Izutsu, Shakkyo y Otras Piezas (Madrid)

WED 04 JUL 2018, MADRID

Performances by leading Noh performers took place at Teatro Salón Cervantes Escenarios Clásicos en Alcalá, Madrid, Spain on Wednesday 4th July 2018.

Event Details

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Noh Reimagined is a series of projects and festivals reviving traditional Japanese Noh Theatre for today! Discover 650 years of Noh's rich history through classical masterpieces and innovative contemporary works from diverse creators.

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