“It’s going to be something different than what people are used to,” said David Furumoto, director of “Narukami: The Thunder God,” the latest show from the University Theatre. This is pretty much the understatement of the year.
“Narukami” is a traditional Japanese Kabuki show, bringing together fancy costumes and dramatic scenes to perform a play that’s over 300 years old.
“Kabuki Theatre is not about realism,” Furumoto said. “It’s going to be very over the top, and the style that we will be performing is very traditional Kabuki.”
Although Kabuki is a very old type of theater, it differs from traditional Western Theatre.
“It’s really different from more contemporary western shows. Kabuki was a type of theater for the common man. It wasn’t about the aristocrats. Because of that I think people will be surprised about how funny Kabuki can really be. There’s a lot of humor in it,” Furumoto said.
“Narukami” does not at all focus on realism, but is instead a fantasy consisting of a magical priest, a scheming emperor and an attractive maiden.
“It’s a fantasy play. You have this case of a very powerful Buddhist priest who has all sorts of mystic powers about him, and he feels that the emperor of the country hasn’t followed through on a promise he made to him,” Furumoto said. “So he takes those powers and basically causes a huge drought to happen. So the emperor sends the most beautiful woman in the court to see if she can find out what the secret is to letting the rain spirits go.”
Another important part of Kabuki is the costumes, which aren’t exactly something you’re used to seeing on State Street.
“The costumes are very elaborate, especially for the main characters. We have a scene where we see a transformation occur right in front of the audience. There are a lot of special tricks like that,” Furumoto said.
Although Kabuki is very different from Western Theatre, it also has many similarities the audience will be able to find common ground with. First and foremost? The language.
“It’s in English!” said Robert V. Pham, who stars in the play as the title character of Narukami, the powerful figure who holds the rain hostage. “But it’s a stylized English, and it’s my job to make sure you understand it. I think most people get caught up in the style of Kabuki. There are fantastic costumes and sets, and it’s very theatrical, but the tricky thing for the audience is to look past the foreignness and see that it’s a play about a guy who isn’t getting what he wants and a woman with a secret plan.”
And if that isn’t enough to help you stop thinking Kabuki is too abnormal to understand, “Narukami” also has some fight scenes that Pham said are decidedly “kickass.” All in all, Kabuki is the telling of a story, but in a very intriguing Japanese tradition. The effects, costumes and broad movements serve to help the audience to understand, instead of to hinder them from following.
“All these characters are relatable,” Pham said. “It’s just that this is a different style of theater. The wonderful thing about Kabuki is that it only works on stage. If it was a movie, you wouldn’t buy into it the same way that people really do.”
“Narukami: The Thunder God” opens this weekend at the Mitchell Theatre. Tickets can be purchased online at www.utmadison.com or at the Mitchell Theatre box office.
