Hauntingly enigmatic, subtle and beautiful, Yukio Mishima’s Hanjo reaches back into the deep past of ancient myth and brings into the modern world, a story that is part fairy-tale, part surreal drama.
Using a 14th Century Noh play, which Zeami Motohiko based on a Han Dynasty Chinese poem, as a springboard, Mishima deals with issues of gender, identity and how we play roles within each other’s lives.
Written in the 1950’s, the startling contemporary clarity with which Mishima evokes this poem for the stage, allows it to transcend era and land in our time with stunning relevance. SITI’s production of Hanjo is a bi-lingual and cross-cultural collaboration working with deep levels of artistic inquiry. It offers a fascinating way to introduce American audiences to Noh, weaving together traditional forms with modern issues of translation, be they linguistic, intercultural, inter-era, inter-gender, and ultimately interpersonal translation.
Part of the NOH-NOW Series
