Living National Treasure Tomoeda Akiyo and Kita Noh Theater Company will be at Japan Society to perform noh works that inspired W. B. Yeats (photo © Seiichiro Tsuji)
TRADITIONAL THEATER
Japan Society
333 East 47th St. at First Ave.
Saturday, November 19, $40, 7:30, and Sunday, November 20, $60, 5:00
212-715-1258
www.japansociety.org
In 1913, Ezra Pound introduced W. B. Yeats to the Japanese noh drama, and by 1916, Pound published English translations of fifteen noh plays and Yeats had written At the Hawk’s Well, which was directly inspired by the Japanese form. In honor of the centennial of that literary moment, Japan Society will be hosting two noh programs performed by the Kita Noh Theater Company, led by Tomoeda Akiyo, who was named a Japanese Living National Treasure in 2008. The first program, on November 19, consists of highlights from Nishikigi, Kumasaka, Tamura, Shojo, and Kagekiyo, presented in such styles as maibayashi, shimai, and subayashi, which differ in use of masks, costumes, chants, and music. Williams College music professor Dr. W. Anthony Sheppard will also give a talk about noh’s influence on Yeats. In addition, the related exhibition, “Simon Starling: At Twilight (After W. B. Yeats’s Noh Reincarnation),” a multimedia installation in which Turner Prize winner Starling reinterprets Yeats’s At the Hawk’s Well for the modern era, will stay open until 7:15; the performance will be followed by a Meet-the-Artists reception. On November 20 at 5:00, the second program will feature full versions of Kayoi Komachi and Shojo-midare, from Yeats’s collection, preceded at 4:00 by a lecture by Princeton University professor Dr. Tom Hare. (There will also be an “Image-in-Focus Series: Tomoeda Akiyo” gallery talk at 2:00.) Tickets for both events are sold out, but there will be a waitlist at the box office beginning one hour before showtime.