The Theatre of Suzuki Tadashi

Suzuki is Japan’s best-known director. He has been internationally acclaimed for his postmodern adaptations of classics by Nanboku, Euripides, Shakespeare and Chekhov since the 1970s, including The Trojan Women, King Lear and Three Sisters and, equally, for his powerful actor training system, which combines elements of Noh and Kabuki with Western realism. Inviting artists from around the world to perform at his Toga and Shizuoka International Festivals, Suzuki has fostered productive exchanges with Jean-Louis Barrault, Robert Wilson, Kanze Hisao, Ashikawa Yoko and numerous others. This book traces Suzuki’s rise from Little Theatre director to international festival celebrity, links his unique Surrealist dramaturgy with his intercultural training system, and gives in-depth descriptions of his most acclaimed productions.

• Provides a production chronology, a theatre history of the Suzuki company, an account of its actor training system, and descriptions of major productions • Both Carruthers and Takahashi are well-known and highly respected scholars of Japanese theatre and have worked closely with Suzuki • Photographs from Suzuki company archives (many never seen in print before) illustrate the development of Suzuki theatre over a 30-year period

List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Chronology; Introduction: Suzuki’s work in the context of Japanese Theatre Takahashi Yasunari; 1. Rethinking Japanese theatre: cracking the codes Ian Carruthers; 2. Inaugurating an age of decentralisation Ian Carruthers; 3. Suzuki training: the sum of the interior angles Ian Carruthers; 4. Adaptations of Japanese classics: On the Dramatic Passions II and John Silver Ian Carruthers; 5. Suzuki’s Euripides (I): The Trojan Women Ian Carruthers; 6. Suzuki’s Euripides (II): The Bacchae Ian Carruthers; 7. Suzuki’s Chekhov: The Chekhov and Ivanov Ian Carruthers; 8. Suzuki’s Shakespeare (I): Macbeth Ian Carruthers; 9. Suzuki\'s Shakespeare (II): King Lear Takahashi Yasunari; Notes; Select bibliography; Index.

\'It is a much welcome addition to the small but growing Suzuki bibliography in English.\' Theatre Research International