Can Japanese export comedy abroad?
The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam shares the delight of welcoming Rakugo Master Utazo Katsura to Hanoi to conduct his sit-down comedy on Tuesday 19 & Wednesday 20 October 2010.
Rakuko, literally fallen words, is a Japanese traditional verbal entertainment. A solo storyteller, sitting on the stage, equipped only with a paper fan sensu and small cloth tenugui as props, depicts long and complicated comical stories without standing up from the sitting position. As the stories are all spoken in Japanese, there have always been language barriers for foreigners to fully enjoy Rakugo performance.
However, this time, here are the exceptions. The Rakugo master, Utazo Katsura, bravely tries to convey the funny stories in English, as well as in Japanese with Vietnamese sub-titles. Such masterpieces of Rakugo stories as “Time Noodle” (Toki-soba), “Gonsuke’s Fish” (Gonsuke-zakana) will be performed on stage. The highlight is the performance of “The Tree-Head Man” (Atama-yama) which will be delivered in an avant-garde style with rock music. The fusion of traditional story and contemporary style is one of Utazo’s unique attempts to make Rakugo funny in a different way.
We hope you will enjoy the “Made in Japan” jokes and punch lines through Utazo’s challenging performance.
Admission is free. The free tickets are available at the Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam (27 Quang Trung) from 10:00 am on Friday 8 October 2010.
■ What is Rakugo?
Having its origin in 16th century and established during Edo era (17-18th century), Rakugo has been verbally passed down through one generation to another, from masters to apprentices as a professional art form. Performers sit on a small mattress in front of the audience and act out stories with a comic style and structure. In Rakugo, the performer can be a narrator, but usually performs the actual characters in the story. These characters converse without a narrator coming between them. The challenge for the performer is switching from one distinct character to another. Each character represents exaggerated aspects of the human personality, which we can be all readily related to. The predicaments, which they find themselves in, are part of everyday life.
■ Profile
Utazo Katsura (Rakugo Master, Member of Rakugo Artists Association)
Born in 1964. Utazo Katsura took his apprenticeship under Rakugo Master Utamaru Katsura in late 1991. In 1996, he took the name Utazo Katsura when he was promoted to 2nd rank of Rakugo artists. He rose to the highest Rakugo Master rank in 2005. Since then, he has been actively appearing various venues in Tokyo, and been enthusiastically sharing the fun world of Rakugo, the Japanese sit-down comedy with the Japanese audience as well as the foreign audience in Thailand, the US and Brazil. He occasionally takes the role of the presenter and/or reporter on several TV programs.
■ Performance information
Rakugo E (Out of tickets)
(The performance will be conducted in English.)
Date: 19 October, 2010
[Open] 19:30 [Start] 20:00
Venue: Vietnam Contemporary Song, Dance and Music Theatre
16 Le Thai To (79 Hang Trong), Hanoi
Rakugo J (Out of tickets)
(The performance will be conducted in Japanese with Vietnamese sub-titles.)
*The performance will be conducted in English with Vietnamese sub-titles due to technical reason.
Date: 20 October, 2010
[Open] 18:00 [Start] 18:30
Venue: 8F, Building E, Hanoi University of Social Science & Humanities
336 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi
Both performances are free admission, but the audience are required to obtain the free tickets.
■ Free tickets are available at
Ms. Trang / Ms. Ha / Mr. Yoshioka
The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam
27 Quang Trung, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi TEL 04-3944-7419 jpfhanoi@jpf.org.vn
OUT OF TICKETS
