Puppet Theater

There are those who say that actors are puppets of playwrights and directors. Obviously, this is a biased opinion. It ignores the powerful force of a personality, of a craft, of the intimate impulse that marks any interpretation. Playwrights and directors show a path, but the actor is the one who follows it in each presentation.

In any case, the symbol of the puppet has been referred to time and again on stage, in productions that often assume it as a playful provocation.

Although in this piece the game is very serious and ceremonious, in the manner of the huge tradition of Japanese theatre.

Let’s read what the play recreated here, a satirical version of a passage from the revenge of the 47 samurai, a well-known story from the Japanese heritage: Yoichibei, who has just sold his daughter to raise money to support the cause of revenge, is attacked by the thief Ono Sadakurō, who steals his wallet and kills him.

The protagonists are two famous 19th-century actors: Kawarasaki Gonjūrō ​​I (right), as Ono Sadakurō's puppet, and Nakamura Shikan IV (left), playing Yoichibei's puppet.

Kabuki is full of such chilling stories, but the fact that they are played by puppets eases the tension. That's what puppets are for: they can be beautiful substitutes.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff