Twelfth Night | Enjoying Kabuki

Mawari butai

The revolving stage is said to have been used in Japan before any other country and its invention is credited to the playwright Namiki Shōzō I (1730–73) in 1758. The revolving stage is used frequently in Kabuki as it enables both very rapid changes of set and dramatic scenes in which actors or even boats can appear to move from one place to the next. Before the invention of electricity, the Kabuki theatres of the Edo Period (1603-1868) were operated manually. In Twelfth Night the revolving stage is employed several times.
		'Captain' Danshiro,　'Sebastian' Kikunosuke

Music


The musicians playing in the kuromisu – the room from which the geza off-stage music is played		The geza music is played through the slatted section of the stage-right set

The three characters which make up the word Kabuki – 歌舞伎– mean the “song and dance and acting skill” and so music is a vital element in nearly all Kabuki plays and dances.
Perhaps the most important is the so-called geza off-stage music which is played from a small room with a slatted wall incorporated into the set, stage right. Apart from the voice, the principal instrument is the three-stringed lute-like shamisen and a variety of drums, gongs, flutes, cymbals, and bells.
Off-stage songs and instrumental solos add greatly to the atmosphere of the play, while other more stylised sound effects give the impression of running water, waves, thunder and lightening, etc.
In Twelfth Night we also have newly composed music featuring the zither-like koto, and, which is exceptional, the combination of harpsichordand kotsuzumi shoulder drum.

Dance


'Cesario' Kikunosuke,　'Curio' Matsuya,　'Valentine' Shucho,　'Orsino' Kinnosuke

All Kabuki actors are, to a greater or lesser degree, dancers. From their earliest years, the children of Kabuki actors study traditional Japanese dance called Nihon buyō and dances make up around one third of the Kabuki repertoire.
The first recorded Kabuki performance took place in 1603 and paintings of those early performances show troupes of women entertainers dancing in a circle. The art of Kabuki dance developed quickly and became the particular province of the onnagata, female role actors. Many dances were created as sections of longer plays, reflecting the stories of these plays in their subject matter.
Dances lyrics too became highly sophisticated, containing complex Buddhist references and word-play, which in turn may be reflected in mime by the dancer. There is a close connection between dance and the literal meaning of the texts, and Kabuki dance is never entirely divorced from acting.

Ishō

Costumes in Kabuki are called ishō and, depending on the type of play, range from the simple, everyday wear of the Edo Period townspeople to the much more lavish costumes worn by the aristocracy.
The range and variety of Kabuki costume is remarkable, but most male and female costumes are some form of kimono which, at its simplest, covers the whole length of the body in a restrictive, tube-like wrap. Three important features of the kimono are the wrapping direction, which must always be left over right (the other direction being reserved for the dressing of the dead); the collar; and the obi or sash, which encircles the body several times and which may be tied with a variety of complicated knots. It is a feature of most Kabuki costumes that they give an immediate clue as to the social status and character of the wearer. That Sebastian and Cesario are well brought up, and that they are adolescent men of the role type called wakashu is, for example, obvious from their dress. People familiar with the Kabuki conventions would also instantly recognize the character of Olivia as an akahime (see above).

Akahime

'Olivia' Tokizo

'Cesario' Kikunosuke , 'Olivia' Tokizo

The akahime or “red princess” is a convention used by onnagata actors to portray aristocratic young women. They are so named after their bright red long-sleeved kimono and glittering silver tiara. Akahime are usually played as rather reticent girls who speak little until passion or a sense of duty provokes them into action. In Twelfth Night, however, this convention is used to portray the more dynamic Countess Olivia. Although she is in mourning, the concept of wearing black was not the custom during the period in which this play is set.

Drop-curtains


		'Captain' Danshiro , 'Viola' Kikunosuke

The principal Kabuki curtain is the jōshikimaku - a vertically stripped draw-curtain used to open and close the play. Occasionally, however, an enhanced feeling of expectation is created by using a secondary drop-curtain which is made of thin billowy material, usually light blue in colour, which is suddenly dropped from above to reveal the set.
In Twelfth Night a drop-curtain is dropped to reveal Viola and the captain on the beach at Illyria.

Waves

Scenic effects in Kabuki are achieved by a number of methods including large printed sheets which cover the entire stage. A snow scene would be all white, for example, and in this play a wave pattern represents the sea. Although we do not witness the shipwreck in Shakespeare’s original play, here we do see Sebastian “hold acquaintance with the waves” as the billowing cloth is made to swallow him up.

Hayagawari

'Sebastian' Kikunosuke

'Viola' Kikunosuke

'Feste' Kikugoro

'Malvolio' Kikugoro

One of Kabuki’s the most spectacular techniques is the hayagawari, “quick change”or transformation of character from one role to the next which enables one actor to perform multiple roles within the same play. Employing special costumes which facilitate very rapid changes (usually behind the scenes) , one actor may completely change character, alternating between male and female, hero and villain, etc. Costumes and wigs and (time permitting) even adjustments to makeup are made so that the actor can effect a complete change. Sometimes identically dressed stand-ins (who do not normally show their faces) give the impression that the character is still onstage when in fact he is in the process of changing. As hayagawari are a demonstration of an actor’s versatility, when he reappears he always shows his face clearly to the audience.
In Twelfth Night Kikugoro will use hayagawari to play both Malvolio and Feste and Kikunosuke will play both Viola and Sebastian.

Onnagata

'Viola' Kikunosuke

'Maria' Kamejiro

Kabuki is a theatre of all male actors. This tradition goes back to the banning of women from the stage by the shogunate government in 1629 for reasons of immorality. In order to play female characters, some actors began to specialise in these roles and came to be called onnagata, literally “female forms” or “female types”. Even though the ban against women was relaxed over time, the stylisation of the onnagata had become such an intrinsic part of Kabuki that real women would now appear far too natural.
While the training to become an onnagata requires many years, the basic principal is to reduce the height by bending the knees, walking with the knees together and slightly pigeon-toed, keeping the shoulders down and keeping the hands, elbows, and arms close to the body. The voice too is very important and all onnagata speak in a falsetto.
While some versatile Kabuki actors play both male and female roles, others, either because of natural talent, inclination or their physiques, specialise in one or the other.
In Twelfth Night the young actor Onoe Kikunosuke will play not only the male role of Sebastian but also the onnagata role of his sister, Viola/Cesario. In this unique case then we will see a male actor playing a female character who is impersonating a man!