Abstract
This chapter approaches Jacques Copeau’s interest in—and his use of—Nō in light of Suzanne Bing’s contribution, which has not been given enough credit. It demonstrates how Bing interpreted and used Nō in the context of Copeau’s theory and practice. It looks closely at the views of Copeau’s contemporaries (such as Harley Granville-Barker, Adolphe Appia, André Gide, and Roger Martin du Gard) on Copeau’s work, especially his and Bing’s work on Nō, and it examines the way the influence of Nō helped shape Copeau’s artistic vision and the way his perception of Nō and his approach to it were shaped by his religious and artistic vision. Copeau’s perception of Nō and its influence on his art must be considered in the historical context of his artistic and religious views, which ultimately conditioned his perception of Nō and his approach to it.
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Notes
- 1.
The journal, Jeux Tréteaux et Personnages: Cahiers Mensuels d’Art Dramatique, which published Bing’s translation of Waley’s introduction to Nō, notes that her translation of Waley’s English version of some Nō plays, including Kantan, would appear in the next issues of the journal (198). But the journal was suspended until 1942.
- 2.
Here, Bing referred to the use of the hashigakari, a bridge-like passage that connects the Nō stage proper, along which the actors enter the stage.
- 3.
Here, it is interesting to note that Charles Dullin also saw the need to avert “the dangers of a virtuosity” in such a performance as that of Japanese theatre, which “sometimes leads to an abuse of ‘actors’ tricks’ and to the grimace” (Dullin 1946, 60).
- 4.
- 5.
Camille Mauclair was also impressed by the Japanese troupe’s ensemble acting: “She [Sada Yacco] is grouped around her with a simple perfection, where each gesture is studied according to a double harmony—relating to the person herself and then to the ensemble of the tableau—the followers, knights, or figurants … And constantly this thought of the spectacle, of the vision of art is coordinated with the narrated and mimed action” (Mauclair 1900, 278. Emphasis in original).
- 6.
Sada Yacco’s dance in the temple was an adaptation of a Kabuki version (The Maiden at the Dojo Temple) of a well-known Nō play, Dōjōji.
- 7.
Copeau’s lecture in which he offered his appraisal of the Nō performance was first published as “Souvenirs du Vieux-Colombier: Histoire de Cinq Ans (1924–1929),” in La Revue hebdomadaire (January 1931, 387–411) and was later included in his Souvenirs du Vieux-Colombier (Copeau 1931).
- 8.
Citing Copeau’s letter, Jean Delay reminds us of “Copeau’s dictatorial character, his ego-centrism, his pride, his authoritarianism that are the flipside of his admirable leadership qualities,” as Copeau “has projected his ego ideal onto the Vieux-Colombier” (Delay 1972, 37).
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Tian, M. (2018). “Free Transposition”: The Use of Nō by Jacques Copeau and Suzanne Bing. In: The Use of Asian Theatre for Modern Western Theatre. Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97178-0_5
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