{"product_id":"9781350407077","title":"Kyogen Japanese Theatre's Timeless Comedy","description":"\u003ch3\u003eForms of Drama\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch1\u003eKyogen\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch2\u003eJapanese Theatre's Timeless Comedy\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eJonah Salz | Akane Nagata | Simon Shepherd\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003ePerforming Arts \/ Theater \/ History \u0026amp; Criticism\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe first book to provide a comprehensive introduction to the formulaic characters, plots, and staging of the comic form of Japanese drama, kyogen.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It spans its history up to the present day, traces its evolution and its spread in the 20th century and situates it within a comparative comedy context. A 600-year-old classical comic form, kyogen plays feature spirited physical gags, rapid-fire banter, poetry, song, and dance. Plots vary from situational comedy and slapstick farce to fantasy. Kyogen actors also appear in noh, the lyric dance-theatre, as go-betweens and narrators.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The books explores how kyogen was originally an independent art, and how since becoming paired with noh as samurai “ceremonial entertainment” in the 17th century, its satire became gentle, the movements stylized, the properties and costumes elegant. It goes on to illuminate how, after World War II, kyogen enjoyed a renaissance. Scholars pointed out its native anti-authoritarianism, comparing them to Aristophanic comedies, Shakespeare's clowns, and commedia dell'arte. Kyogen actors taught at Japanese theatre academies and professional troupes, occasionally asked to interpret Shakespeare, Beckett, and contemporary plays showing the threats of nuclear war and climate change.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This book shines a spotlight on kyogen as performance, describing popular characters and plots, the training trajectory from childhood to maturity, and the organizational structure of this guild-like comic cottage industry. A comparative approach situates kyogen's classical comedies within a global dramatic comedy context.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJonah Salz\u003c\/b\u003e teaches comparative theatre in the Faculty of International Studies, Ryukoku University, Kyoto, Japan. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAkane Nagata \u003c\/b\u003eis a lecturer at the Research Center for Classical Performing Arts, Kobe Women's University, Japan.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e04 March 2027\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBloomsbury Academic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMethuen Drama\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9781350407077\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHardback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e224\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight (oz): \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e16.0\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51223576477836,"sku":"9781350407077","price":61.2,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/getimage_b66670da-2480-405a-be4c-f9517e7e25ab.jpg?v=1783077647","url":"https:\/\/fh90cf-fv.myshopify.com\/products\/9781350407077","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}