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The Diver is a dramatic play written in 2008 by Hideki Noda and Colin Teevan. It premiered in London in 2008 at the Soho Theatre and the US premiere occurred in 2010 at The University of Michigan. The play combines a modern psychiatric case with traditional Japanese Noh theatre and includes elements of the world's first novel, The Tale of Genji and a Noh play, Ama (also the term for Japanese pearl divers).
The show focuses around a Japanese woman named Yumi Yamanaka who is accused of murdering her lover's two children. As she spends time with a Psychiatrist, she drifts in and out of reality and assumes characters from both The Tale of Genji and Ama while a Prosecutor and the Chief of Police work to determine her guilt.
The Diver was originally performed from June 19-July 19 in 2008 under the direction of Hideki Noda. The cast included Kathryn Hunter, Hideki Noda, Harry Gostelow, and Glyn Pritchard. The production team included Denzaemon Tanaka as composer, design by Catherine Chapman, lighting design by Christoph Wagner, and sound design by Paul Arditti. [1]
The first production in the US of The Diver was performed at the University of Michigan from October 21–23 in 2010 under the direction of Rebecca Spooner.
The Tale of Genji is a classic work of Japanese literature written in the early 11th century by the noblewoman and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu. The original manuscript, created around the peak of the Heian period, no longer exists. It was made in "concertina" or orihon style: several sheets of paper pasted together and folded alternately in one direction then the other. The work is a unique depiction of the lifestyles of high courtiers during the Heian period. It is written in archaic language and a poetic yet confusing style that make it unreadable to the average Japanese speaker without specialized study. It was not until the early 20th century that Genji was translated into modern Japanese by the poet Akiko Yosano. The first English translation was attempted in 1882 but was of poor quality and incomplete.
Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and nōgaku are sometimes used interchangeably, nōgaku encompasses both Noh and kyōgen. Traditionally, a full nōgaku program included several Noh plays with comedic kyōgen plays in between; an abbreviated program of two Noh plays with one kyōgen piece has become common today. Optionally, the ritual performance Okina may be presented in the very beginning of nōgaku presentation.
Benjamin Yeoh is a British Chinese playwright.
This article is an overview of traditional and modern Japanese theatre. Traditional Japanese theatre is among the oldest theatre traditions in the world. Traditional theatre includes Noh, a spiritual drama, and its comic accompaniment kyōgen; kabuki, a dance and music theatrical tradition; bunraku, puppetry; and yose, a spoken drama. Modern Japanese theatre includes shingeki, shinpa and shōgekijō. In addition, there are many classical western plays and musical adaptations of popular television shows and movies that are produced in Japan.
Roméo et Juliette: de la Haine à l'Amour is a French musical based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, with music and lyrics by Gérard Presgurvic. It premiered in Paris on January 19, 2001. The production was directed and choreographed by Redha, with costumes by Dominique Borg and settings by Petrika Ionesco. The producers were Gérard Louvin, GLEM, and Universal Music. ! Since then, the musical has been performed in Verona, Rome, Canada, Antwerp, London, Amsterdam, Budapest, Szeged, Moscow, Vienna, Bucharest, Seoul, Pusan, Taipei, Monterrey, Japan, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Portugal and has been translated into several languages, including Dutch, Italian, Hungarian, Russian, English, German, Spanish, Romanian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Slovak.
Aikaterini Hadjipateras, known professionally as Kathryn Hunter, is an American-born British actress and theatre director.
Royall Tyler is a scholar, writer, and translator of Japanese literature. Notable works of his include English translations of the The Tale of the Heike which won the 2012 Lois Roth Award, as well as The Tale of Genji which was awarded the Japan-US Friendship Commission Translation Prize in 2001. Tyler's first book of poetry was published in 2014, entitled A Great Valley Under the Stars, and his published collection of poetry, Under Currockbilly which recounts his life during the year 2014, suggests he has spent periods of his life in France, Japan, the United States, Australia, and elsewhere.
Hideki Noda is a Japanese actor, playwright and theatre director who has written and directed more than 40 plays in Japan, and is working to bring modern Japanese theatre to an international audience.
Marry Me a Little is a musical with lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim, conceived by Craig Lucas and Norman René. The revue sets songs cut from Sondheim's better-known musicals, as well as songs from his then-unproduced musical Saturday Night to a dialogue-free plot about the relationship between two lonely New York single people, who are in emotional conflict during an evening in their separate one-room apartments. Despite knowing of the other's existence, they never get up the courage to talk to each other, though they imagine what such an encounter might be like.
Matsukaze is a play of the third category, the woman's mode, by Kan'ami, revised by Zeami Motokiyo. One of the most highly regarded of Noh plays, it is mentioned more than any other in Zeami's own writings, and is depicted numerous times in the visual arts.
Aoi no Ue is a Muromachi period Japanese Noh play based on the character Lady Aoi from the Heian period novel The Tale of Genji. It is an example of the fourth category of "miscellaneous" Noh plays. Aoi no Ue was the first of many Noh plays based on The Tale of Genji. It is sometimes attributed to Zeami Motokiyo or to his son-in-law Zenchiku; the extant version of the text is likely a reworking of a version written for the troupe of a contemporary, Inuō.
Ratan Thiyam is an Indian playwright and theatre director, and the winner of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987, one of leading figures of the "theatre of roots" movement in Indian theatre, which started in the 1970s. Also known as Thiyam Nemai, Ratan Thiyam is known for writing and staging plays that use ancient Indian theatre traditions and forms in a contemporary context. A former painter, and proficient in direction, design, script and music, Thiyam is often considered one of leading contemporary theatre gurus.
Shutaro Oku is a Japanese film director and visual planner.
Colin Teevan is an Irish playwright, radio dramatist, translator and academic.
Matt Wilkinson is a British actor, playwright and director.
Peter Kellogg is a musical theater book writer and lyricist. He wrote the lyrics and the book for the 1992 production of the Broadway musical Anna Karenina, for which he received two 1993 Tony Award nominations, one for Best Book of a musical and one for the Best Original Score. He also wrote the lyrics and book for the musicals Chasing Nicolette, Desperate Measures, Lincoln In Love, Stunt Girl, Money Talks, and The Rivals which have been read and produced regionally. Kellogg also received the New York Musical Theatre Festival 2006 award for Excellence in Musical Theatre Writing (Book) for Desperate Measures. On June 3, 2018, Kellogg won the 2018 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics for Desperate Measures.
Paul Arditti is a British sound designer, working mainly in the UK and the US. He specialises in designing sound systems and sound scores for theatre. He has won awards for his work on both musicals and plays, including a Tony Award, an Olivier Award, a Drama Desk Award and a BroadwayWorld.com Fans' Choice Award for Billy Elliot the Musical.
Ordinary Days is a sung-through musical with music and lyrics by American composer Adam Gwon. Set in New York City, the musical follows four characters, Claire, Jason, Warren, and Deb, exploring how their ordinary lives connect in the most amazing ways. Originally directed by Marc Bruni with the Roundabout Theatre Company at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, the show includes 21 songs which tell the story of these two men and two women. The original cast included Lisa Brescia (Claire), Hunter Foster (Jason), Jared Gertner (Warren), and Kate Wetherhead (Deb).
Lisa Goldman is a British theatre director, dramaturg, writer and author. She was Artistic Director and joint Chief Executive of Soho Theatre (2006–10) and The Red Room Theatre Company which she founded (1995-2006). In 2008 Lisa was included in the London Evening Standard’s ‘Influentials’ list as one of the 1000 most influential people in London.
Jūrō Kara is a Japanese avant-garde playwright, theatre director, author, actor, and songwriter. He was at the forefront of the Angura ("underground") theatre movement in Japan.