Noh Theater

[mekanopsis1]

Don't burst my bubble

[StorytellerRob]

There's Noh theatre like Noh Theatre. :-)

[CurtDogg]

I'd rather watch Noh Theater than Kabuki Theater!

[sammersrules]

uh srbluecollarman this is totally noh acting and also its soooo stupid

[ruzickaw]

boring

[ELBlove7]

This type of theater seems to go awefully slow (although I'm sure it's on purpose), and I was wondering how long a show typically lasts as long as that is the case.

[erosamuk]

now, that's magic!! quite extraordinary. THANK YOU.

[mathfreak879]

i'm not exactly sure what they are trying to portray here. i'm doing a project on major Asian forms of drama, the Noh thater being one of them, and i have to do a comprehensive review of a video. but that's the thing- i'm not comprehending! >.< can someone help me??

[JPDWI]

noh theatre was influenced heavily by Zen. Keep things simple. Hard for Westerners to understand because we want everything to seem so "real" all the time, we get stuck in the paradox of everything on stage wanting to be real, but the fact it isn't causes restrictions in the subject matter and characters. Noh theatre rejects the path of realism and literal representation. Staying true to its roots for 400 + yrs

[PhillyGirl1]

Is there a difference between Kabuki and Noh ? or are they same with different names?

[maeless]

the Western theatre  sometimes has a similar density

[ZEROEVILDARKCOOL]

NO THEATER

[catchersmitt0]

is the scene showing the exciting police chase at .0001 miles an hour?

[marsmannix]

fascinating. where can i learn more about the chorus and the chanting that accompanies Noh?

[rumpwrestler]

NOH is the most advanced theater experience one can have.... there's nothing like it.

[trsdos]

when americans do this iti s called avant garde. funny how what is strange to one culture isnt to another, nothing wrong with any of it, but its all very interesting the styles that develop from different culturess

[olstar18]

@trsdos Not only that but if you look really closely at a cultures are you can learn a great deal about what they valued.

[philipgripo]

I think the actor is representing a robot

[kossmikham]

The dancer IS a robot.

[risawrong]

@philipgripo Uh just because his movements are rigid and controlled doesn't mean that he is representing a robot. Btw Noh theatre performances are classified into 5 categories; 'human', 'warrior', 'woman', 'comedy' and 'demon' plays so he is not acting as a robot. The idea of robots didn't exist during the time that Noh theatre was founded so, yeah.

[Symph909]

So half Samurai Showdown's OST is Noh Music o.0 Interesting..

[wmotamedi03]

@Symph909

The voice at Guwange's title screen (once you press start), as well as the "enter name" screen, reminds me of Noh as well.

[TheNachtjager]

I know that art is subjective, but can anyone tell me what the actor is representing in this scene?

[sorenti]

unfortunately i can't give you answer to the question, but because it's japan and especially japanese theatre we're talking about, it's safe to say that it's very very specific scene. with specific emotions etc. so people who go to noh theatres alot probably know it all by heart and just the storyline part is probably quite boring already :P

[topsonerful]

N O H K <3

[Fragile0Still]

I see people mention Kurosawa using a Noh theatre influence. Check out Kagemusha and Ran for his furthering that influence.

[hananokuni2580]

They say that Noh closely resembles ancient Greek theater in its heavy use of symbolism in the form of character types (as opposed to characters), the lack of spoken dialogue by the actors per se, and the use of background chorus.

Noh is quite "sparse" for a theatrical art form, but that is the beauty of it. It teaches without presuming to preach. Simply follow the action and the rest is up to you.

[severaloptions]

These comments are very much to the point. Especially "the rest is up to you."

[zachlaliberte]

this will be the first art form taken over by robots...

[hananokuni2580]

Stiff posture and flexible steps. Then large movements of the arm made slowly. Noh is an art of contrasts. And any art where actors must exercise subtlety in such a way as described above would not be called robotic.

Kurosawa Akira the director once used some Noh elements in his 1950s classic "Kumonosu-jou" (Spider Web Castle, a.k.a. "Throne of Blood").

[Lenangreal]

i cant understand this form of art :(

[InalielAirotciv]

@Lenangreal I'm sorry this comment got downvoted. It's your right to not understand or appreciate it, but you still acknowledge it as a form of art and it seems like you're upset that you can't appreciate it. It's alright, it's an acquired taste. I can't say Noh is for me either. I thought I would like it more since I like Kabuki, but no dice. <3

[Gwendollynne]

from which play is this?

[spuider123]

nice

but imagine having to sit through hours of that

[eauhomme]

I have...

With all the respect in the world for Japanese theatre, seeing a double feature of Macbeth and Othello was rather difficult.

[hananokuni2580]

It takes a bit of getting used to, much like listening to classical music. Once we appreciate that these works were written by real-life playwrights writing about real-life issues, Shakespeare (or a work by a classical composer such as Haydn or Purcell) is not all that boring.

I must say, though, that Tudor English can sound stilted T_T

[Wierduh]

It's so simple... yet it's so beautiful.

[ZEROEVILDARKCOOL]

NO THEATER

[smilefeverman]

It think it's great how effortless she moves. It's beautiful.

[SRbluecollarman]

sorry to burst your bubble, but usually, men are the only actors of noh. they usually wear masks to make themselves look like women. but i like this, they managed to make the actor look convincingly like a woman. and all the emotion is felt!

[smilefeverman]

I should have remembered that fact, but I got lost in the movements.

[tairanokiyotsune]

No guys, there are a lot of women perorming since the beginning of XX century. This one for example.

[xxcandykorexx]

yep, women can perform noh theatre and also

[IvyBlueable]

@SRbluecollarman thats not noh the acting type that uses only men to act in japan is called Kabuki and to tell you a fact i am taking drama class and we are currently studying about the history of drama

[xxcandykorexx]

when you perform noh theatre, its everything but effortless, trust me XD they make it seem effortless and simple, but its not

[tairanokiyotsune]

yeah, exactly it's very stressful and painful!

[ruzickaw]

@xxcandykorexx For this, no effort is needed, only stiffness.

[GilbertSmith]

Buh! The camera's moving!

[Guardian016]

Sometimes main cast(Shite) doesn't wear masks as a kind of expression.

This is called "Hitamen".

He likens his face to a mask.

[loqutor]

Not everyone wears masks in Noh.

[grossgermany]

shaking hand, no good performance

[ngexpert]

sux

[janettezurc]

hai., its about the noh., or no drama

[MarcosSoni]

Interesting material. I hope to catch a performance during my vacation to Japan.

[FidelioRoo]

Which play is that from?

[Maraking16]

Is she (I think that was a woman) dancing as part of a ritual or is that just entertainment?

[MetaMorphy]

It is both. Read about Noh. By the way, the flash photography was annoying and disrespectful.

[NobaraChan88]

very nice image/sound quality. it must be hard holding so still!

[sharkmuncher]

Very graceful! It was a bitfun to watch it, but the music was rattling all over in my head!

[ZEROEVILDARKCOOL]

I LOVE NOH THEATER