Ze-Ami and his Theories of Noh Drama
ISBN 978-0-86140-214-4 21.6 x 13.8 cm.
For over five centuries the essays of Ze-Ami – considered, with his father Kan-Ami, to be the founder of Noh, the classical dance-drama of Japan – were kept secret. They were not shown to more than one Noh actor in each generation until recently. Though they contain a large number of paradoxes and contradictory statements as well as a great deal of repetition, they were regarded as a Bible by actors in the Noh technique. As repetition was a constant feature in training and in techniques in many arts in Japan, and as paradox had often been used in the search for the truth in Zen, so Ze-Ami's essays were accepted, despite their repetitions, paradoxes and contradictions. They were not. however, easily translatable, and they benefit from being edited.
In this work therefore, Ze-Ami's ideas are dealt with in eight chapters: The History of Noh: Five Groups of Noh Plays: Training: Acting: Writing a Play: Public Tachiai Competitions and Grades of Acting: The Audience: and Hana. This arrangement presents Ze-Ami's ideas with some order and consistency. Relevant sections of eighteen essays by Ze-Ami are translated and discussed. These include Fushi-kaden, Kashū, Ongyoku-Kowadashi-kuden, Kukyō, Shikadō, Nikyoku-Santai-Ningyōzu, Sandō, Fushizuke-shidai Fukyokushū, Yūgaku-Shūdō-Fūcken, Goi, Kyūi, Rikugi, Shūgy-okutokuka, Goonkyoku-Jōjō, Goon, Shūdosho, Kyakurui-ku, and Zeshi-Roku-juigo-Sarugaku-Dangi.
This volume is a most useful introduction to an understanding of Noh history, practice, and technique, for all readers in the West, written as it is by a trained Noh actor..
Yeats and the Noh: A Comparative Study
21.6 x 13.8cm. Irish Literary Studies series 38
W.B. Yeats wrote the plays in Four Plays for Dancers (1921) when he was strongly influenced by Japanese Noh theatre, and was searching for some breakthrough in his efforts to promote poetic drama.
Since then, various books have been published on this topic but, with the notable exception of Richard Taylor, no scholar has been able to cope with both Yeats and Noh. Yeats and the Noh started in a small seminar room in University College Dublin, when both authors took part in productions of The Dreaming of the Bones and Nishikigi with their students. Masaru Sekine directed both plays and Christopher Murray performed in them: they were therefore equipped with live experience as well as their personal expertise in Irish literature and Noh drama.
Professor Augustine Martin introduces the volume, and apart from the main section of the book, Colleen Hanrahan, one of the students who took part in both UCD productions, writes about acting in Yeats’s play; Peter Davidson writes about Yeats, Pound, Rummel and Dulac; and Katharine Worth provides an essay on Yeats, Beckett and Noh. There are 16 pages of illustrations.
This volume is unique in providing detailed analysis of contrasts in theatrical aims, as well as examining why man seeks to explore tragic drama as a means of extending the limits of reality.
‘Since O’Casey’ and other essays on Irish Drama
In this collection of lucid essays that cover the entire eighty years of modern Irish drama, Robert Hogan writes about the major Irish dramatists of the 20th century and their impact on audiences, and on other playwrights, as well as considering the works themselves. In them he uses a variety of critical techniques, ranging from biography to studies of influence, structure and dialogue, to history and anecdote, and the ill-treatment of several sacred cows.
In addition to essays on such giants as Synge, O'Casey, and Beckett, the book deals with more neglected figures such as W. J. Lawrence and the still insufficiently appreciated George Fitzmaurice and Denis Johnston. It also presents a full critical survey of the years 1963-83 in which exciting writers like Brian Friel, Hugh Leonard and John B. Keane made their mark. The author's style and varied ways of dealing with the subjects make this volume particularly enjoyable, as well as informative, reading.
CONTENTS<br
Preface<br
YEATS CREATES A CRITIC<br
THE INFLUENCE OF SYNGE<br
THERE IS REALISM AND REALISM<br
O'CASEY, THE STYLE AND THE ARTIST<br
O'CASEY, THE STYLE AND THE MAN<br
THE INFLUENCE OF O'CASEY<br
DENIS JOHNSTON'S HORSE LAUGH<br
TRYING TO LIKE BECKETT<br
SINCE O'CASEY<br
A Factual Appendix<br
A Critical Appendix, by W. J. Lawrence, containing his reviews of Birthright by T. C. Murray (1910), The Magic Glasses by George Fitzmaurice (1913), Shanwalla by Lady Gregory (1915), and Juno and the Paycock by Sean O'Casey (1924)<br
Notes<br
Index