Details

Kanadehon Hamlet is a backstage comedy about the first production of Hamlet in Japan - Shakespeare meets Kabuki in this sparkling, clever play based on historical fact. The wealthy Baron spends two years in American, where he encounters the legendary Edwin Booth's final performance. Back in Tokyo, he persuades the famous impresario Morita Kanya XII to let him direct his Kabuki stars in the first performance ever of a Western play. The actors struggle with Shakespeare's tale of revenge, war and ghosts until they realise the parallels with Kanadehon Chushinguru - the Tale of the 47 Ronin or masterless samurai. Harue Tsutsumi's play received the prestigious Yomiuri Literature Prize in 1992 and has played in Maebashi, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo and New York. (with simultaneous translation)

Cast/Performers

Minoru Uchida, Takashi Fujiki, Akio Hayashi, Nagtoshi Sakamoto, Naoya Hayasaka, Koichi Kubo

Creatives/Company

Author: Harue Tsutsumi
Company: Kiyama Theatre Production (in association iwth Amy Kassai)
Director: Toshifumi Sueki
Design: Mitsuru Ishil