Customer Reviews

Kabuki Plays on Stage: Brilliance and Bravado, 1697-1766 (Kabuki Plays on Stage, Volume 1)

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I've found it quite difficult to find kabuki plays in translation, as opposed to secondary literature about kabuki, or translations of noh plays, for instance. This series is wonderful because it provides exactly what I was looking for, with a lucid, informative introduction to each play, and copious notes on the staging, as well as photos. I can't comment on the quality of the translation of the script, but I am really overjoyed to come across the actual "stuff" of kabuki theater in a language that I can understand.

My only two quibbles with the "Kabuki Plays on Stage" series have to do with what the series leaves out. First, kabuki performances usually comprise only an act or two, or a critical scene from a play that was originally much longer. This series only translates the sections that are typically performed, while I would be interested to read a full kabuki play beginning to end. Second, as far as I know, this 4-volume anthology includes no examples of a "snow torture" scene, as in the play "Akegarasu" (which is not included). That said, I don't know of any work in English that would give you either of those things, and I recommend the "Kabuki Plays on Stage" anthology unreservedly.