According-Ninagawa

Yukio Ninagawa

Director of “King Lear" and "Hamlet"

Yukio Ninagawa had been successful in several international theatrical projects mostly in Europe by 1993. At the time, Sanada-san, already a big star in Japan, had started to wonder if he should continue as he was, or challenge something new. He had just three days available, so he jumped onto a plane and visited Ninagawa-san in London, who was there to direct “Peer Gynt” by Royal Shakespeare Company.

Ninagawa-san was surprised, because they had almost no contact in the past by then, but as they talked in a Chinese restaurant, Ninagawa-san was moved by Sanada-san’s honesty and enthusiasm. Sanada-san wanted to do "Hamlet", so they decided to work together in Hamlet.

But at the beginning of the rehearsal, Sanada-san had a trouble speaking the lines properly. It lasted for more than 10 days, and Ninagawa-san was shocked how clumsy he was. (The other source says that Sanada-san just did not know the way Ninagawa-san usually conducts his rehearsal and he was not prepared for that.) But after two weeks, all of a sudden, something “possessed” him and he got into the role.

“Hamlet” was played in 1995 in Tokyo, and again in 1998. In both of them, Sanada-san as Hamlet and Takako Matsu as Opheria were the same, and some other castings are different. There were slight differences in the visual setting as well, and in 1998, it was played in London’s Barbican Theater as well. Although it was played in Japanese language, as Ninagawa tried to show the universality of the great masterpiece in both cultures, it received very favorable reviews from the British press and audience.

Among the audience was late Sir Nigel Hawthorn, the great Shakespeare actor and was supposed to play the main role in Ninagawa’s King Lear the following year. He was deeply impressed by Sanada-san’s Hamlet for his “aura”. Ninagawa-san had determined to use a Japanese actor for “Fool” role, but no specific actor was named by then. Sir Nigel suggested Ninagawa, “how about Sanada for Fool?” And Ninagawa-san agreed, “Oh, it is a great idea!” (from Asahi Graph)

Most of the time in the past, Fool was set as an old man, but Ninagawa-san made him a boy, who used to be in a traveling comedy group and was hired by the King. So it was not totally unnatural if he was an Asian. In his version of King Lear, Fool was like a son, and sometimes like a spiritual lover to the King. Ninagawa used traditional masks used in Japanese classic plays and dances as tools for Fool to entertain King, and Sanada-san, again, was perfect for this scheme, as he is a recognized dancer in Japanese traditional dance.

It was a hard decision for Sanada-san. He had to move around his schedule to accommodate “King Lear” for seven months, and he had to overcome the language barrier. He was already fluent in English, but his was American English, and with Shakespeare, he had to learn this classic and particular way of speaking these lines. He did it all with his usual “hard work”. Ninagawa-san says,

“Sanada-san is the man of endeavor. He works at least twice as hard as the regular actors. He just makes effort, effort, and effort, and he never shows it anyone else.” (from NHK’s BS Special)

Not only the language, but he also had to overcome the invisible psychological barrier of the English casts. He did it so naturally on the surface, paddling so hard underneath the surface. At a point during the season, there were several injuries among the casts and there was no extra actor to play a warrior in the latter half the play. Sanada-san volunteered to substitute this role, even though he did not have to under the contract. By then, he was the “de facto” fight choreographer (just like in "The Last Samurai"), so he was a great substitute. Other English cast members were surprised and impressed, and said “how extraordinary Sanda is! We learned so much from him.” Ninagawa-san also writes, “Sanda-san is great! I am glad he was there with me.” (from Asahi Graph)

"Sanada-san's greatness lies in his spirituality and in his own ethics. No matter how hard his action is, he still emits the stoic spirituality. That is the source of his neatness, as well as his ageless sexiness."

"I hope he keeps working on the experimental stuff, in addition to being a big star in Japan. I believe that is the duty of the person at the top." (from Asahi Graph)

King Lear was played both in Japan and in the U.K. in 1999/2000. The play received a bad press review in London at the beginning as it was very different from the traditional way, but the tickets were sold out every day and the critics eventually changed their tone later on. Both Ninagawa-san and Sanada-san received the Medal of Honors from the Queen Elizabeth for the success of this ambitious project.

Yukio Ninagawa started as an actor in commercial modern theaters, and later established himself as a director both in “small theater” movement in 60-70’s and in commercial side. Now he is the biggest name in the Japanese theater circle, and is the director of Sai-no-kuni Saitama Art Theater and Tokyu Bunkamura Theater Cocoon. He is known for his flamboyant, self-assertive and aggressive personality, who often throws ashtray to actors.

Yukio Ninagawa, “Sanada-san, Great!”, Asahi Graph, April 28, 2001http://www3.asahi.com/opendoors/zasshi/gurafu/backnumber/b20000428.html
Takashi Yamaguchi, "Challenge of Yukio Ninagawa", Bessatsu Taiyo, February 25, 2001, Heibonsha
http://www.heibonsha.co.jp

NHK BS Special, "Challenge from Zero", broadcasted on January 9, 2000
TV Asahi, "King Lear Document"