Akihiko Ogita's "The Stage Tells" Summary and Impressions - A book that provides background on the Shakespeare boom in Japan! Also recommended to learn about the currents of contemporary theater!
Introduced here is "Butai ha Tsutaeru" (The Stage Speaks) by Akihiko Ogita, published by Shueisha in 2002.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
This is a radical reading of contemporary plays and musicals and a sincere guidebook, as only the author, who has been at the forefront as a theater journalist and theater critic since the 1960s and has continued to provide readers with real-time information and criticism from the hot frontlines of the stage, can. It includes not only the first generation of small theater performers such as Juro Karajuro, Shuji Terayama, Tadashi Suzuki, Shogo Ota, and Yukio Ninagawa, who opened up new possibilities for contemporary theater, but also the latest theater performances by Hisashi Inoue, Kohei Tsuka, Hideki Noda, Koki Mitani, Ai Nagai, Ryo Iwamatsu, Oriza Hirata, Suzuki Matsuo, and the much-discussed musicals of the day. Theatre: Theatre of the Future The book also provides a variety of perspectives on contemporary theater, including the body, family drama, Shakespeare, and regional theater, making it an enjoyable book of analysis and critique.
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This book was featured in the previous article.Contemporary Theatre in Japan.This work is a counterpart to
The author describes the book in the afterword at the end of the book as follows
In 1995, I had already published a book titled "Nihon no gendai gekijo" (Modern Theatre in Japan) (Iwanami Shinsho), which is a history of contemporary theater in Japan, focusing on the small theater movement from the 1960s onward and tracing the flow of modern theater in Japan until the 1990s with episodes from my own experience. However, due to the limited number of pages, this book did not have much room to touch on "shingeki" and "musicals. In comparison, this book covers a wide range of contemporary theater in general, including small theaters, shingeki, and musicals. In addition, in contrast to "Japanese Modern Theatre," which is written according to the trends of the times, this book is written by theme or by keyword. If "Contemporary Theatre in Japan" is a "warp" that follows the time axis, this book is a "weft" that analyzes the current state of the theater on a number of themes. The warp and weft together could form a compact textile on contemporary Japanese theater and musicals.
Shueisha, Akihiko Ogita, "The Stage Tells," p. 221-222
In my previous article.Contemporary Theatre in Japan.In the article, I was able to learn about the flow of theater from the postwar period to the early 1990s. As I mentioned in the article, it was very interesting for me to learn about the connection between the security struggle and student conflicts and theater.
And now that the book was published in 2002, we can learn even more about the recent theatrical situation there.
I was especially happy to hear about the Shiki Theater Company and "Les Miserables" and other musicals that I also love.
And most importantly, it was a great opportunity to learn about the flow of Shakespeare's plays in Japan. The historical background of Shakespeare's boom in Japan was very interesting. The appearance of translator Takeshi Odajima and director Norio Deguchi, and the existence of the Shakespeare Theatre, of which Kotaro Yoshida was a member. The influence of Peter Brook, Trevor Nunn, and other prominent foreign playwrights. And the innovative direction of Yukio Ninagawa.
You can listen to Mr. Ougita's masterful commentary on these trends. Mr. Ougita's famous commentary is written by Hisashi Inoue, whom we have previously introduced in this blog.Romance."I am totally a fan from
This book is also a great guide to grasp the general framework of Japanese theater and musicals. I highly recommend this work. I highly recommend you to pick up a copy.
The above is "Akihiko Ogita, "The Stage Speaks" - A book to know the background of the Shakespeare boom in Japan! Also recommended to learn about the currents of contemporary theater!" It is also recommended to learn about the current trend of contemporary theater!
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