He moves gracefully as he rehearses the studied movements associated with the ancient art, but his serene exterior belies deep worries about the future of noh.
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Noh theater struggles to survive the pandemic
He moves gracefully as he rehearses the studied movements associated with the ancient art, but his serene exterior belies deep worries about the future of noh.
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This article made me so sad. I know that in life we invent new art forms and adapt to the new world, but it so sad that because of this pandemic an entire art form from Japan that has been around for so long may die out. I think the pandemic is causing a lot of theatre and art makers to find new forms of storytelling which I think will lead to some great things but is tragic that with that comes the fall of such an important cultural art form of Japan. I am also wondering why the Japanese government and large arts organizations have spent money and time to protect other historical art forms such as Bunraku and kabuki and have not spent any money or time into helping save noh theatre. I hope that the Japanese government realizes what will be lost if this entire art form is lost. This also made me think about the effect the pandemic will have on American theatre and other forms of theatre around the world. Something I hope more than anything is when people learn about the pandemic in school years from now they never have to learn a list of art forms that were lost as a result of it.
This is really upsetting to hear honestly. I have studied Noh and Kabuki theater both, and I know how much of an influence these theater styles have had on the theater world at large. It would be a shame to lose such a classical art form to Covid. I am hopeful that even if it loses some of its major backing during the pandemic, it will be able to come back strong once we can have audiences in person. People will have a longing to see what they once saw in person and even more, so things like Noh will have a resurgence in time. It is difficult to adapt something like this that is so deeply rooted in its history to a modern, online platform, but maybe that is the direction it will have to go to ensure people do not lose sight of it. We have all had to make sacrifices in order to continue to present live video theater in these times, and I hope Noh artists can find a way to do the same.
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