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No kabuki till 2013, but here's a website so you can see what you're missing
A new website hoping to fill the void in kabuki fans' hearts after the closure of Kabuki-za, in Ginza, is nothing like the real thing. But that's OK, because neither is kabuki, it says
Some 200 Kabuki actors bow in the closing ceremony of the 60-year-old landmark theater as its final curtain is closing in Tokyo, on April 30, 2010.When Tokyo's iconic Kabuki-za theater closed it's doors on April 30 this year, fans knew they would have to wait until 2013 for a reconstructed office-theater complex to open. Now entertainment company Shochiku has opened up a flashy new English language website to keep fans entertained in the interim.
Tokyo's Kabukiza, the iconic home of Japan's traditional kabuki drama, on it's closing day, April 30, 2010
The new site offers tips for newcomers to Kabuki as well as detailed background to the theater form, including this gem:
Most people in the world today are used to watching commercial movies and television. The style of entertainment in such drama is representational. In other words, it attempts to convince us of its 'reality' through a 'realistic' style. Traditional Kabuki, however, is very different. A fundamental principle of Kabuki performance is that it is presentational, implying that all stage action is consciously directed outwards towards the audience. Things are clearly displayed in a formal manner, rather than in a realistic way.
Perhaps recognizing how important foreign tourists have become to the business, the comprehensive site also offers ticket-booking systems for other theaters, which you can do from outside Japan.
