Noh

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Inner peace. Yeah, its also music.

Just came back from a Noh performance staged at the National Library's Drama Centre. It was awesome. And it was free. Okay, as close to free as I could possibly get it to be, as I was running late and had to pay a freaking $12 to the cab driver, daylight robbery I know, but yeah. The performance itself was free. Even if I had to pay $20 for it, I would have gladly forked that amount over for the spectacular time that I had. No, it was not the company, because I went solo, as mentioned in my previous post. The entire experience was very positive and superbly entertaining.

I probably should go into detail about what Noh is all about, but I'm not inclined to do so. Simply because everything is just a click away at Wikipedia. You can even Google Noh and get some pretty decent links. So I shan't waste moonlight in telling you the long sob story. Rather, I'll just plunge into my review and opinion of the performance. Note that the perspective is that of a 20 year old girl, educated and brought up in a rather conservative environment. While I do cosplay and will readily admit to being a great fan of the Japanese language and culture, I am, in no way, an expert on Japanese society and culture. So yes. As a worst case scenario, you should treat my ramblings as that of a Westernised Asian girl.

The first act was Kocho. I'm not sure if this a very popular set piece, all I know is that its about this butterfly spirit that attains enlightenment. Personally, I felt that it was rather muted for something that was suppose to be a joyful piece. I mean, the dance was made up of the actor shuffling across the stage, with the occasional light stomps. The fan was opened and closed, the sleeves of the kimono was flipped around. That was about all I could see. You need to understand that this is my virgin experience with Noh. The closest thing that I've seen is Gasaraki, and that is an anime. We all know how reliable animes are, don't we? So yes. Don't take me too seriously.

The intermission was a Kyogen entitled Obagasake. This was absolutely hilarious! It was so funny! And I could actually understand a part of what was being said! The story is something everyone would understand regardless of culture, as its to do with family relations, stingy relatives and wine. It was performed by 2 members of the Jiutai, and it was a sharp, and rather welcome, contrast to the heaviness of the previous act. No instruments, no chorus, which might have been the reason why it was so light hearted, other than the lack of a more sombre plot.

Everything ended with another Noh performance, that is supposedly a classic, titled Shakkyo. Quite energetic, with loads of movement. There was lesser singing, this time done only by the chorus, as I guess it was too tiring to dance and sing at the same time. Hmm. I really like the wigs worn by the actors! It was so cute and fluffy. Think Fuyu no Semi style, but much more fluffy. The strands would flop around as the actors shook their heads (they were supposedly lion messengers of Buddha or something). It reminded me of Chinese New Year. The lion heads that were supposed to drive away bad luck? Yeah, it felt like that.

On the whole, the costumes were fabulous! I think I saw gold thread used so liberally that I wonder at the price of the costumes. Very very pretty. The fans look like they were painted with gold as well. No expense spared eh? Costume changes, so-called transformation, was done on stage! Quite cool, as the stage hands hold up the previous kimono as a curtain while someone helps the actor change. Oh OH! I saw two girls! On the stage as helpers, wearing the 'uniform' of the chorus and the musicians. I was under the impression that Noh theatre was the domain of men, and Japanese society being very very patriachal, I was rather surprised that they brought girls along on a tour. Hmm. Another thing I noticed is that most of the actors have the samesurname. I suppose this hints at possible Noh families, much like there are political, police, Kabuki, flower arrangement and tofu selling families. The family unit is very much alive and influential I suppose.

To the uninitiated, I think Noh may seem like a marionette show in certain ways, but I personally feel that it is infintely more interesting. Definitely not meant for kids though, for its a more abstract form of art that may be difficult for children to sit through. After all, I was there to watch the show. Not to listen to kids ask their parents why the actors walk so slowly, or start laughing when the chorus starts singing as it sounds more guttural than English and Mandarin. The masks are a wee bit disconcerting at first, especially the mask of the female aristo, with its rather sinister blankness (I have no idea how its suppose to look HAPPY like THAT), but they are strangely compelling, as you soon forget that its a mask as you internalise the plot and the character. At this point in time, I think a disclaimer is in order. I have no clue as to what the actors were singing, except that it was some form of Japanese. I was reading the subtitles, that were not reliable, and trying to interpret meaning from their actions and nuance. Not like their dead-pan expression helped me to understand.

The instruments were simple. Voices, a flute and three drums. The actors tend to stomp on the wood to create a certain beat. I'm not too sure, like I said, I'm a newbie honey!, but I think it was very interesting to see how an entire play can be conducted with these simple elements. The backdrop was a simple canvas painting of a pine tree, and their stage props were far lesser than that of a typical Western play.

ARGH. Just read my post and realised how weakly I'm describing Noh. I suppose its because it is an entire experience. Audio, visual, kinaesthetic and all. Words on a webpage can hardly do it justice. Sigh. If only you were there. I wonder if you would have been able to appreciate it. Nevertheless, I had a fantastic time. Attending art events alone make you think harder than if you were to go with a friend. With someone else, you'd only prattle about superficialities, and miss the larger experience. After all, its all about the experience, and the little insights and meaning that it adds to your life.

"With this bridge, I shall connect you to a fantasy wilder than anything any human mind can conceive."