When the one-off performance of Star Wars kabuki was announced, it made sense. Star Wars is deeply influenced by Japan, so it seemed as though this would work. That it did, but better than I could’ve imagined.
The kabuki version is a fascinating take on Star Wars. Even the program was excellent.
これからスターウォーズ歌舞伎だよーー★
楽しみっ!!カイロレン の画…カッコいい。@SWnendooo と、ショジさんと智子さんー♪#STARWARS歌舞伎 #SW歌舞伎 #スターウォーズ歌舞伎 pic.twitter.com/o2kA0Vo1ZB— yuuki SW歌舞伎???? (@yuuki07474139) November 28, 2019
市川海老蔵さんがカイロ・レンに!
『スター・ウォーズ/スカイウォーカーの夜明け』公開記念「スター・ウォーズ歌舞伎」
1日限りの特別な公演を紹介☆
詳細→ https://t.co/ICSydHJpe0 pic.twitter.com/sRpHPEFVmt— Dtimes Drama (@DtimesDrama) November 28, 2019
The performance was about forty minutes, and can be watched in full below (it starts at around 12:28). Even though it’s in Japanese, you know the stories and the characters, so you should be able to follow along. At around 17:23, there is an opening crawl in English. “Judai,” “Lukuu,” “Leian,” and “Kairen” are not typos, but localised reworkings to fit kabuki style Japanese language.
For example, “Luke” is not written in katakana as ルーク (Ruuku) as it usually is, but for the kabuki play, the character has been given the kanji name 琉空 (Rukuu), which could be translated as “jeweled sky.”
Ichikawa Ebizo XI stars as Kylo Ren (“Kairen” in the play), while his son played Princess Leia (“Leian”). In kabuki, there are no female actors, so male actors must play all the roles.
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