Ancient Japanese Theatre NŌ and KYŌGEN

**Plzeň premiere of the oldest classical Japanese theatrical genre: the drama NŌ – Hōshōkai School from Tokyo and the farces KYŌGEN – special guest Kyōgen Theatre from Brno.**

NŌ
Eight centuries of living tradition: elaborate costumes, archetypal wooden masks, traditional music and folk songs, sarugaku dances and magical choral recitation. Stories of passion, love and hatred distilled into the simplest possible dramatic expression of beauty and the transience of human life.

KYŌGEN
Japanese kyōgen (meaning "mad words") is a comic theatrical form that flourished in the mid-14th century and continues in unbroken tradition to this day. Traditionally inserted between two plays of the ceremonial theatre NŌ, it uniquely satirizes human shortcomings.

Both genres have been inscribed by UNESCO on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as "masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of mankind". The plays are presented in translation with commentary by Ondřej Hýbl.

The performance takes place under the patronage of the Embassy of Japan in the Czech Republic. Presented by: Czech Organizing Committee for the Hōshōkai Performance and Kajima Czech Design and Construction s. r. o.