Sumire – Kabuki Meets West | Theatre Review

by John Ashmore

Wimbledon College of Art hosted a bi-cultural spectacle on Monday night as Tokyo’s Kabuki Theatre joined forces with London acting school East 15.

The show fused elements of Kabuki, a traditional Japanese dance form dating from the 17th century,  with the story of the life and death of Franco-Polish composer Frederic Chopin.

Kabuki performer Fukusuke Nakumura played Chopin, supported by eight young performers from East 15.

Contrast and hybridity were at the heart of their performance. Everything from the set design, the costumes to the music was shared between the Japanese company and their British hosts.

Elements from both cultures were cleverly merged. Chopin’s piano music and the three-stringed Japanese samisen were the backdrop for the dancers; an actor emerged wearing a ballgown with a Japanese mask and two Japanese actors duelling whilst waving Russian and Polish flags.

This was interspersed with Tokiwazu and Nagautu singing a haunting accompaniment to the story of Chopin’s demise.

The East-West fusion reached its pinnacle at the finale. The entire troupe took to the stage: Japanese and English speech overlap, with the pianos and samisen competing for attention as the eight British performers surrounded Nakumura.

Although initially somewhat perplexing, I could not help coming out of Sumire with a sense that I had witnessed something rather special.