Noh Reimagined 2018 Comes to Kings Place

Following the highly successful 2016 edition, Noh Reimagined is returning to Kings Place with an exciting new theme and line-up. The two-day festival explores the art of Noh, the iconic theatrical tradition that originated in fourteenth-century Japan. This edition will shed light on the unique dramaturgy of Mugen ('phantasmal') Noh, in which the main actor (shite) appears as a ghost in the dream of a travelling monk performed by the supporting actor (waki). The ghost then tells the tragic story of its past life, expressing deep regret and lamentations, hoping to find peace.

Top Noh performers from Japan will work with innovative British artists and neuroscientists in genre-defying collaborations to examine the surreal artistic elements of Noh. Join us to explore time, space and symbolism in Noh theatre through interdisciplinary performances, workshops and talks.

Noh Reimagined 2018 will connect the sublime illusions and transformative power of Noh's 650-year-old tradition with the creative energy of contemporary arts and culture, posing new questions about who we are.

In The Sublime Illusion of Mugen Noh, six leading Noh performers from Japan will present highlights from the masterpiece of Mugen Noh, Izutsu (The Well Cradle), written by Noh playwright and actor Zeami (1363-1443), along with some of the finest instrumental and dance sections from the classical Noh repertoire.

The Transformative Power of Noh will celebrate the ability of Noh to create otherworldly figures that transcend time and space by inviting cutting-edge British artists to perform new works that push artistic boundaries. Clod Ensemble, the London based multi-award winning performance company, will present Snow, a piece inspired by the restless female spirits and demonic figures of Noh theatre, featuring original music informed by this 650-year-old tradition. At a pre-concert talk, co-directors Suzy Wilson and Paul Clark will discuss their creative process, including their workshops in Japan with Noh performers.

In a new piece embracing ghosts and phantoms, Wiebke Leister's photo performance is joined by sound artist David Toop and Yukihiro Isso on nohkan ‎flute. Echoes and Callings will work with photographs of life-casts and death-masks and improvised sound to express the out-of-body experience of Hannya. Hannya is a Noh mask representing a jealous female demon. We will also see the shishi ('lion dance') from the celebrated classical Noh play Shakkyo (Stone Bridge), based on an ancient Chinese story, and the premiere of nohkan flautist Yukihiro Isso's Mugen Noh-inspired piece, based on a story by neuroscientist Atsushi Iriki.

In Noh + Neuroscience: Glimpsing the Invisible, Professor Semir Zeki, a pioneer of neuroaesthenics, will talk about the objectivity of subjective states. When a white object is set against a white background and illuminated with projections, for example, we see coloured shadows that are not really there. Zeki will demonstrate the power of the mind to conjure these coloured shadows, working in collaboration with Noh performers, so audiences will experience reality and illusion at the same time.

In addition, Professor Atsushi Iriki of the Riken Institute in Japan will present his research into the notion of Riken-no-ken, a concept from a text by the Noh master Zeami, which refers to the ability of Noh actors to separate themselves from their bodies and their performances in order to judge their technique objectively.

In Noh: Space in Between, Leon Michener, the architect of the Klavikon system, will sculpt the feedback he creates by amplifying a piano's soundboard, then using the space between the piano and the audience in Hall Two as an ascetic counterpoint to the music created by Noh performers.

In the seminar Noh Mask, Noh Movement: Illusory Devices, two professors from the Noh Theatre Research Institute of Hosei University, the leading Noh research centre in Tokyo, will unveil the secrets of Noh movement through narrative and scientific analyses, discussing how Noh masks represent the spirits of ghost, deities and demons.

The workshop Noh Movement: Acting from Inside will provide a chance to learn the basic kata (movement patterns) of Noh. Focusing on centre of gravity and concentrating energy, participants will turn these basic movements into a series of fluid motions that enable subtle emotional expression.

Phenotypica is an initiative created by multi-award winning artist Neus Torres Tamarit and computer scientist Ben Murray. They will exhibit the installations and sculptures of their Biomorpha (Evolving Structures) project and a site-specific installation called Confined Mutations at Kings Place. Working at the intersection between art, science and technology, they seek to create evocative and immersive artworks about genetics and evolution that engender an emotional response. www.phenotypica.org

Noh Reimagined 2018 takes place in partnership with Kings Place, Japan Foundation, and Noh Research Institute, University of Hosei. The festival is generously supported by Yakult UK, Arts Council England, Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and JSPS.

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Noh Reimagined 2018 is produced and curated by Akiko Yanagisawa (mu:arts).

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