General

Noh Sumidagawa and A Tale of the Sumida River at the Aldeburgh Festival receive a 5-star review from The Guardian. &Asian magazine also released a fabulous review on Noh Kinuta:  

• Review by Rian Evans, The Guardian, June 2024
• Noh Reimagined & Noh Kinuta: A Beautiful Art Form Brought To Life by Pat Lyttle, &ASIAN, June 2024

Articles from &Asian magazine:

“What to Look Out For: Noh Reimagined 2024, Kings Place”, &ASIAN, June 2024

“As the Noh Reimagined Festival returns this June, we take a look at the joy and magic that the festival, in collaboration with Kings Place, brings to all who attend.”

“The Bible of my Life: Actor Shizuka Mikata”, &ASIAN, June 2024

“As part of Noh Reimagined 2024 in Kings Place this 21st & 22nd of June, Kyoto-born actor Shizuka Mikata takes us through Fūshi Kaden (風姿花伝, “The Transmission of the Flower”), the most seminal influence in his life.”

The new production “Song of Rona Island ” ( A work in progress performance) , which is in spired by the Scottish poet and writer Kathleen Jamie’s essay was showcased in Tokyo. From the far edges of Japan and Scotland, it delivers a powerful message about the deep connections between nature and humanity that resonate with today’s world.

Date: Wednesday, January 17, 2024, 7:00 PM
Venue: Tessenkai Noh Theater

A historical collaboration was witnessed by the audiences at the Noh theatre in Aoyama, Tokyo. Kanji Shimizu (Kanze School shite actor) and four finest Noh perforemrs, along with Aidan O’Rourke (fiddle) and Brìghde Chaimbeul (Scottish smallpipes), came together to create a unique drama where Noh and Scottish nature intersect.

The new production is based on the captivating essay “On Rona” by Scottish poet Kathleen Jamie, which depicts her impactful experiences on the remote island of Rona in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland,

The Outer Hebrides, comprising over 180 islands off the west coast of Scotland, are known for their majestic natural beauty and mystique. Among these islands, Rona (North Rona) lies 71 kilometers north-northeast of Lewis Island, making it the most remotely situated island in the British Isles.

Kathleen Jamie, a prominent Scottish poet and novelist, chronicled her three-week stay on Rona Island, accompanying ecological surveys, in her essay “On Rona,” which is part of her collection “Sightlines” (published on September 10, 2013). Jamie’s sensitive and poetic prose captures her gentle gaze towards the island’s nature and its inhabitants, her astute observations on lost history and human presence, and her reflections on the fragility of ecosystems, humanity, and the warnings against environmental destruction.

Kanji Shimizu: shite ( Saint Rona )
Takao Nishimura: chant (Rona island)
Aidan O’Rourke: Fiddle, Composition
Brìghde Chaimbeul: Scottish Smallpipes
Hiroyuki Matsuda: Nohkan flute
Kyosuke Tanabe: shoulder drum
Mitsuhiro Kakihara: Hip drum

Planning & Production: Akiko Yanagisawa (Mu Arts Japan)
Supported by: The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

31st October 2023, Tessenkai Noh Theatre, Tokyo

Following the highly acclaimed London premiere at Kings Place as part of the 3rd Noh Reimagined Festival, Noh Reimagined invited Thick and Tight their commissioned pieces ” Two Moths in Real Time” along with 5 Noh performers for Tokyo audiences to the highest acclaim.

Two Moths in Real Time

The ambitious piece is inspired by the rhythms, structure, choreography, and metaphysical philosophy found in Noh and Kyogen. Through the study of queer culture and queer ecology in the UK and Japan, Thick & Tight consider how the term ‘unnatural’ is often applied to behaviours of the LGBTQ+ community to create divisions around who belongs in our interconnected world.

Sambaso in 12-beat measures

Thick & Tight dances to the rhythm of Sambaso (famous ancient divine dance in Noh, praying for a bountiful harvest) as two moths. While the original Sambaso is in 8-beat measures, Isso created this piece in 12-beat measures inspired by flamenco.

A Tale of the Sumida River,” adapted from the Noh play “Sumidagawa” by Motomasa Kanze, featuring a new story co-written by Xanthe Gresham-Knight and Gareth Mattey, will premiere at Aldeburgh Festival followed by the performance of the classical Noh play “Sumidagawa”. The performance will repeat at Kings Place on 21st June.

Today the Sumida River snakes its way through the heart of Tokyo, its beating heart contained, flowing past temples and stadiums and into Tokyo Bay. But long ago the Sumida River flowed free, between marshes and fens, uncontrolled by human hands.  This was a wild land – no Tokyo to speak of the capital and civilization itself lay far away to the west. To see a woman of the capital here alone, so far from home, bamboo branch in hand, was a clear sign to traveller and ferryman alike – the woman must be mad. For if not mad, what else could drive her desperate need to cross the Sumida River?

In this introduction to the Noh performance, the British storyteller relates the timeless narrative of Noh Play “Sumidagawa”, a meditation on love, loss, and the river that carries us all.

Xanthe Gresham-Knight

Xanthe Gresham- Knight has been a performance storyteller for 30 years.  She has received numerous commissions from major institutions such as The British Museum and The Smithsonian and has been storyteller in Residence at Harvard University.  She has also worked at The Chelsea Physic Garden and writes for Psychologies Magazine.  She is the author of numerous books including Goddesses and Heroines (Thames and Hudson) and the Herba Mythica, the Myths and Folktales of Sacred  Healing Plants (History Press).  This is her first foray into Japanese literature and Noh Theatre and she is both honoured and grateful for the guidance of the creative team in working on this story for Noh play “Sumidagawa”.

https://xanthegresham.co.uk

Gareth Mattey

Gareth (pronouns they/them) is a writer, translator and dramaturg. A graduate of the Guildhall School’s MA in Opera Making and Writing, as well as New York University’s MFA in Dramatic Writing. Gareth recently returned from Japan where they have been further developing their creative practice and relationship with Japanese theatre, music, and media, with the support of a Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation Scholarship.  Gareth’s engagement with both Noh and opera began when directing a student production of Curlew River in 2014, and they are incredibly excited to once again be working with the power and beauty of Noh. They have previously worked with Birmingham Opera Company, FAWN Chamber and Creative in Toronto, among others.

Noh Reimagined and The Place are excited to announce the launch of the 1st Noh Workshop Lab, as part of Artist Led Labs.

Join Noboru Sano, a professional Noh shite actor, who trained at Hosho school under Hosho Fusao XVIII, for a 2-day lab.

This lab is supported by The Place, The Great Sasakawa Foundation, The Japan Foundation, The International Noh Project Committee, and Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture).

Please visit the link below for details:

https://theplace.org.uk/opportunities/artist-led-labs-the-japanese-noh-workshop-with-noboru-sano

Wiebke Leister’s ‘Echoes & Callings’, which was premired at Noh Reimagined 2018, will be published by MA BIBLIOTHÈQUE

https://mabibliotheque.cargo.site/