Kyogen Theatre

Kyogen Theatre was founded in 2001 at the initiative of Czech playwright, director and mime Hubert Krejčí and Ókura Shigeyama Shime, a master of the Kyoto school. The ensemble is dedicated to the study, creation and performance of Japanese kyogen farces in a Czech context, and by its focus represents a world unique phenomenon. The theatre's work is based on long-term Czech-Japanese cooperation among professional theatre artists, regularly developed through workshops where, with the participation of a Japanese master, a new play is rehearsed in Czech.

Kyogen (translated as "mad" or "artfully embellished words") is a comic theatrical form that—like Japanese traditional noh theatre—evolved from originally Chinese sarugaku plays. The genre flourished in the mid-14th century and continues to be performed in an unbroken tradition to this day. The word "kyogen" designates a standalone comic play, traditionally inserted between two noh theatre plays. Written records of kyogen's existence in Japan date from the 12th–13th centuries; the genre achieved true refinement during the Edo period (1600–1868), when its protagonists had sufficient time and resources to perfect their acting technique. In the depth of its treatment of acting methods and the aesthetic level of its expressive means, kyogen is closer to European opera or serious music than to comedies as we know them from our cultural tradition.

Cast to be confirmed. Performance duration: 1 hour 20 minutes.