MANSAI NOMURA’S KYOGEN: KAGAMI-KAJA (A MIRROR SERVANT) + SHIMIZU (SPRING WATER)
Japan Society
Launch with Watch Party: Wednesday, December 9, free with RSVP (suggested price $5-$20), 8:30 (available on demand through December 31)
Live Talk + Q&A with Mansai Nomura on YouTube: Saturday, December 12, 9:00
www.japansociety.org
A Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property, kyogen actor Mansai Nomura returns to Japan Society — virtually — in an online double feature launching with a livestreamed watch party complete with real-time commentary on December 9 at 8:30. Nomura, the star of the cult movie duology Onmyoji, was last at Japan Society in 2015 with the Mansaku-no-Kai Kyogen Company, founded by his grandfather in 1957 and then run by his father, Mansaku Nomura, staging the solo piece Nasu no Yoichi, based on a chapter from The Tale of the Heike, as well as Akutaro (Akutaro Reforms) and Bonsan (The Dwarf Tree Thief). (Nomura was previously seen in New York City in March 2013 in Sanbaso, Divine Dance, a collaboration with Hiroshi Sugimoto that was copresented by Japan Society at the Guggenheim.)
Kagami-kaja (“A Mirror Servant”) is part of kyogen double feature from Japan Society (photo © Shinji Masakawa from Setagaya Public Theatre)
This time Nomura, the artistic director of Setagaya Public Theatre, will be performing in two works. The new Kagami-kaja (“A Mirror Servant”) was written for Nomura by comedian, novelist, rapper, and avid gardener Seiko Ito; Nomura conceived of and directs and stars in the story about a servant who gets trapped in his reflection. The evening also includes the traditional piece Shimizu (“Spring Water”), a complex tale involving a trickster servant and a tea ceremony. Nomura will introduce each show, and he will also take part in a live talk and Q&A on December 12 at 9:00 that will delve into the history of the seven-hundred-year-old art form known as kyogen. Admission to both events is free, although there is a suggested donation of $5 to $20 based on what you can afford during these challenging times, during which Japan Society has continued to deliver innovative, cutting-edge programs online. If you miss the livestream of the double feature, it will be available for on-demand viewing through December 31; the discussion will take place on YouTube.