Abstract
Yukio Ninagawa’s acclaimed NINAGAWA Twelfth Night1 reinvents Shakespeare’s play as a Kabuki-style comedy, and represents a creative fusion of the two traditions. A number of parallels may be drawn between Shakespearean comedy and Kabuki theatre. Both have played a key role in their countries’ theatrical cultures for more than 400 years, both interrogate gender identity to comic effect, and both enjoy continuing popularity today. In his Twelfth Night, Ninagawa succeeded in marrying these two traditions together to create a truly innovative and memorable production.
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Notes
T. Kishi and G. Bradshaw, Shakespeare in Japan (London and New York: Continuum, 2005). I. R. Minami, I. Carruthers and J. Gillies, eds, Performing Shakespeare in Japan (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 2–3.
NINAGAWA Twelfth Night programme (Tokyo: Kabuki-za Theatre, 2005), 5.
K. Elam, ed., Introduction to The Arden Shakespeare, Twelfth Night (London: Cengage Learning, 2008), 383. All play quotations are taken from this edition.
A. Senda, ‘A Road to the NINAGAWA Twelfth Night’ (original Japanese title: Ninagawa Juuniya eno Michisuji), in the revival production programme (2007), 31. See also A. Senda, ‘The Dramatic World of Yukio Ninagawa’ (original Japanese title: Ninagawa no Gekisekai), (Tokyo: Asahi Newspaper Company, 2010), 117.
NINAGAWA Twelfth Night programme (London: Barbican Centre, 2009); my italics.
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© 2013 Seiji Furuya
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Furuya, S. (2013). Kabuki Shakespeare: The NINAGAWA Twelfth Night. In: Brown, S.A., Lublin, R.I., McCulloch, L. (eds) Reinventing the Renaissance. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137319401_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137319401_11
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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