| |
Making
good use of Kansai's local advantages |
| |
Zoraku |
Today,
many actors live in Tokyo and base their activities
there. But Hidetaro, you've always lived and worked
in Osaka. Why is that? |
| |
Kataoka |
By living
in Osaka and being in the area, I can portray the
Osaka wife. I don't know whether that's the result
of affection or persistence, but it's my policy.
You could say that there's a specific Osaka "flavor"
that only actors living in Osaka can portray. You
won't be able to present Kamigata kabuki unless
you have several actors who can do that. |
| |
Zoraku |
I see.
On the subject of the relationship between an area
and an art, as we said at the start, the Kansai
area is the home of classic arts and is a treasure
house of stories for the stage. The Gakugeki Festival
uses the advantages of its Kansai location. |
| |
Kasaya |
That's
exactly right. In 2001, the new outdoor Noh play
Kukai was performed at Kyoto's Toji temple,
which is associated with Kobo Daishi, and it went
on tour to Mt. Koya. Making the most of Kansai's
unique local advantages is very important for producers.
In addition, our role is to create an intermediate
step that is a bridge to the classics. We want to
provide many new opportunities for people to become
familiar with the appeal of the classic arts, not
to tell people to see them because they are famous
or are being performed by a living national treasure.
Our work is to keep on repeating this and to make
people understand the attraction of the best aspects. |
| |
Zoraku |
The theater
space is also important for increasing the audience.
Shochikuza is a great place for large kabuki productions,
but may be a bit forbidding for the general public. |
| |
Kasaya |
A recent
example is the bunraku performed at the theater
in HEP Five in Osaka. It's always packed, mostly
with young people. They're probably coming with
the idea that they'll take a look and see what's
there, much in the same way they would go to a movie
or a game center. When they see what's there, they
are introduced to a fresh, new world. Venues such
as this should be much less forbidding than large
venues or traditional Noh theaters. Takigi
Noh (Noh plays performed outside by the light of
a bonfire) are also becoming very popular. The open
space and the atmosphere created by the firelight
are very romantic, and apparently couples are finding
it very fashionable to go there. |
| |
Zoraku |
The takigi
Noh at Osaka Castle sponsored by Yomiuri Shimbun
for some twenty years has become a regular part
of the entertainment scene. It is so popular that
in 2001, more than 8,000 people came to see the
performance. |
| |
Kasaya |
This is
also omoroi in a different sense. |
| |
Kataoka: |
Why do
so many people come? It's often said that people
don't come to see the "good" dramas. A good drama
isn't the kind of drama people want to see. They
won't come just because it's a premiere, or to see
a famous performer, or because they have a good
reputation. That's why I thought of a revival of
wakashu kabuki. In 2002, 350 years after
it was first prohibited, the young actors of the
Kamigata-juku are taking the lead roles and we're
shunted to supporting roles. This isn't a study
group, this is a serious performance. This is a
new Hakkenden (an epic Edo-period samurai
drama) by young people, and it's being called the
Heisei wakashu kabuki. |
|
Kasaya |
That has
to be included in the 2002 Gakugeki Festival. |
| |
Kataoka |
Yes, for
three days from August 2. As you just said, the
theater won't be a regular venue like the Osaka
Shochikuza. We'll perform at the Theater Drama City
in Umeda. |
| |
Zoraku |
That's
something to look forward to. |
![[Roundtable Discussion]](../../images/sub_08.gif){kind=small}