Theatre
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'THAT SORT OF ST ORY- TELLING WILL BE QUITE ALIEN TO A UK AUDIENCE'
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Found in translation
The National Theatre of Scotland's first project of 2009 attempts to create theatre with British concerns out of a Japanese film, as Kirstin Innes discovers
inema and theatre haye a long history of
sharing stories. l’lays are adapted into films. and cyery second blockbuster seems to flip easily into a Broadway inusical. However. what tends to happen is a straight transl'er ol‘ plotline and character. In adapting Dolls — Takeshi Kitano‘s culturally-specil‘ic Japanese arthouse film of three
intense. interconnected loye stories -- into a piece of
theatre. what ('arrie ('racknell ol' llush Productions. working with the National Theatre of Scotland. is about to do is an act of translation.
‘When I saw the film in 2(llll. I was struck instantly by the images. because they seemed very theatrical] she says. ‘lloweyer. something that‘s been very important to the whole production learn. right from the start. was that the theatre piece shouldn't become deriyatiye ol the lilm. so we‘ve been looking for other languages that we can use to express that with.‘
()ne of the stories in the film is about a pair of
loyers wandering the earth. bound eternally by a red cord so the man can atone for the wrongs he’s done to his partner. In the film. this is told in starkly-coloured imagery across huge landscapes. 'You don‘t haye the same type of skills in theatre.‘ says (‘racknelL ‘You can‘t switch instantly between landscapes. we can‘t make all of those big pictures. So we‘ve tried to find alternatiyes that are uniquely theatrical. and something about the physicality of that symbol suggested dance and movement..
Some of the other translations haye been more cultural. finding l'K equiyalents l'or yery particular Japanese social and emotional structures. The second
story is about a yukum. a Japanese gangster bound by specific codes of honour. who gives up his loyer to protect her; he becomes a former (‘lydeside shipbuilder. played by Tam Dean Burn. who linds his way into the equally coded (ilasgow gangland. The third story may take the audience by surprise: we don‘t haye anything exactly like Japan‘s J-l’op industry. a huge production wheel of disposable teenage starlets. inspiring l’eryent. momentary mania in their fans. but we‘re getting there. '/.oey Van (ioey. the sweet (ilasgow indie band who provide the soundtrack to the first two stories. take centre stage. as their singer Kim Moore is discovered. walks out the band and into the spotlight. where she is manicured. shot to fame as a solo artist and then forgotten about. except for the one of one obsessi\‘e tan. with whom she begins a dangerous relationship.
‘When Kitano was making the film he was looking back oyer Japanese theatrical heritage. stories of huge passions. and using these big yisual motifs as the starting point.’ says ('racknell. ‘What I've always been attracted to about Dolls is the hugeness ol' the sacrifices the characters make. These passionate relationships. and the enormous things the characters have to do to express that passion. And I think perhaps that sort of storytelling. that sort of grand emotion. will be quite alien to a [’K audience. and as we try to reposition the stories within British settings. the strangeness ol' the si/e of‘ these gestures is what the stories haye become about.‘
Tramway, Glasgow, Wed 28-Sat 31 Jan.
Hit
THE BEST THEATRE & DANCE
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* x Factor Dance Company Artistic director Alan Greig collaborates with New York-based choreographer Gerald Casel to create the stripped-down Query. See preview. page 74. Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, Thu 22 Jan.
* Sub Rosa David Leddy explores power relationships in this Victorian promenade piece. which conducts audiences through the Citz' backstage nooks. Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, until Sat 31 Jan.
* From the Calton to Catalonia Revival of John and Willy Maley’s moving tribute to the Scots who travelled to Spain to fight Franco. inspired by the real-life experiences of their father. Ramshom, Glasgow, Mon 26-Sat 31 Jan. * Dolls Stage adaptation of Takeshi Kitano's arthouse film of three intense. interconnected love stories. See preview, left. Tramway, Glasgow. Wed 28-Sat 31 Jan.
# Manipulate Puppet Animation Scotland and the Traverse team up for this year's manipulate Visual Theatre Festival, which this year includes a performance by Obie Award-winning puppeteer and humourist Paul Zaloom in The Mother of All Heroes as well as a screening of his animated film Dante's Inferno; Twin Houses, a monologue performed by Nicole Mossoux and five mannequins and Poemes Wsuales. created by Spanish master puppeteer Jordi Bertran. For full details see listings. Traverse, Edinburgh, Tue 3—Thu 5 Feb. # Baby Baby Stellar Quines presents this tale of a pair of teenagers from very different backgrounds, both of whom fall pregnant. See preview. page 74. Tron Theatre, Glasgow. Wed 4-Sat 7 Feb, then touring.
22 Jean-E, Feb 2009 THE LIST 73