Eighteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

The Japanese director Yukio Ninagawa (1935-2016), who devoted the last 30 years of his life to directing Shakespearean plays, demonstrates that the essence of theater is not only cognitive but also social interconnectedness, inside the theater. How does this interconnection – as a variant of intertextuality – develop? Thus, it is necessary to investigate why in his experimental direction, theatrical intertextuality necessitates a wider perspective on the interaction among those involved in the production and appreciation of a play. His ambitious direction strongly suggests that he genuinely wanted the audience to finalize the process of his theatrical production by giving fresh meaning not just to Shakespeare’s plays, but to theater in general. By examining his outrageous but thought-provoking directing style, this presentation intends to provide a new insight into theater studies. Its main focus lies on how and why Ninagawa made successive directorial attempts at these European classics in order to motivate contemporary audiences at home and abroad to look afresh at Shakespeare. Instead of appraising his specific directorial works, this presentation intends to reconceptualize his individualistic directing style that contributes to contemporary theater. Ninagawa perceives that among other participants, the audience, who is most eligible to finally evaluate his artistic output, is the deciding factor. His experimental directing style strongly encouraged the audience to seek a new and unexplored perspective on Shakespeare’s plays.