Kanawa/Kamabara

at Wadham Theatre next week

This is a double bill of adapted Japanese theatre presented by the Oxford Professionals. Kanawa is a musical about an abandoned Japanese wife who asks the advice of a priestess on how to seek revenge on her husband and his new wife. Following the Priestesses advice, she turns into a demon. Meanwhile, her husband is haunted by nightmares, seeks the advice of a Magician, who fights the demon. The vengeful wife-demon loses the battle and disappears from the scene, with the clear implication that she will be back another day.

Although adapted from a traditional play, this production of Kanawa retains very little of the style of traditional Noh. The music is only loosely based on the original score and the singing style is distinctly western. However, this does not mean that it is a disappointment. The music, composed by Ryota Kojima (who does most of the percussion and piano himself) uses a strange mix of instruments to great effect, producing an interesting and original score which compliments the spectacular singing of the players.

The set and costumes are simple, so the task of providing a sense of time and atmosphere is left to the music and lighting Kamabara is an adaptation of a Kyogen comedy. This is a play rather than a musical and retains some of the stylised feel of Japanese theatre. It is the story of a man, Taro, who is attempting to escape his shrewish wife. The main part of the play is of Taro trying to kill himself. The all female cast of this very short comedy do a fantastic job of showing the similar material (love 'gone wrong') in a very different light when compared to Kanawa.

The combination of good music, brilliant voices, drama and comedy promises to make for an entertaining evening.

JvM

22/02/2000