Murderer!. To 25 August.
Edinburgh - Fringe
MURDERER!
by Kazuhiro Inada from a story by Shugoro Yamamoto translated by Miho Hojo
Yuki Produce theatre company at Garage Theatre. To 25 August 2003.
2.15pm
Runs 1hr No interval
TICKETS: 0131 221 9009
Review: Timothy Ramsden 17 August
High Noon in the land of the Rising Sun'The cowardly samurai' might seem like the title of a cartoon comedy, but for Rokubei, things are serious. No-one'll marry him because of his fearfulness, nor does any man want such a coward's sister for wife.
So he gets himself a job - with certificate to prove it - as official avenger for a murder. The problem is, the killer is himself an experienced samurai swordsman - a tiger to Rokubei's avenging lamb.
Things seem black, but the story soon develops an angle on courage. The lambkin tries a programme of psychological torture, undermining Koken Nito's pride and prowess by shouting after him everywhere that he's a murderer.
Holed up in an inn, where as narrative chance would have it, the innkeeper is a devastatingly attractive 17-year old woman orphan of independent mind, he finds his behaviour criticised. But, on producing valid documentation (which sounds like a joke, but is most probably a serious 'death certificate' in samurai circles), Robukei wins his landlady's support and love.
With two voices shouting after him, the self-immportant Koken's soon completely disorientated. Tetsuya Itoh's initially straight-backed, firm-voiced samurai, calmly and mockingly stalking around as Katsuhiko Ueyama's fearful Rokbei scurries bent and fearful, becomes comically nervous, a strobe-lit scene showing his sword-play literally going off-balance.
If there are two sorts of attack, there's more than one type of courage too. Koken's is built on unthinking toughness following tradition, while his opponent thinks out new schemes, and has the strength to take on responsibility for helping his sister to a decent marriage, even at cost to his own safety.
The neatly executed performaces make for a fascinating hour, decorously tricked out with two visible (but, in line with Japanese theatre tradition, supposedly unseen) stagehands in black clothes and veils, providing props and an array of fascinating sound effcts. Itoh also provides a musical interlude sung to the Biwa, a Japanese lute held vertically and not so much plucked as assaulted with a triangular wedge of a plectrum. All good stuff.
Rokubei: Katsuhiko Ueyama
Sister/Landlady: Sakoto Yoshioka
Koken Nito: Tetsuya Itoh
Director: Eimei Toshima
Assistant director: Elizabeth Handover
2003-08-18 18:46:32