AT JACOB’S WELL
Tessen-kai Noh-Compagnie Tokyo
A NEW NOH-PLAY
AT JACOB’S WELL
Tessen-kai Noh-Compagnie Tokyo
WHAT IS NOH?
The traditional Japanese Noh-theatre was created by Zeami Motokiyo at the Ashikaga Shogun court in Kyoto at the turn of the 14th to the 15th century. It combines shamanistic and Buddhist rituals, ceremonial dances with masks and chants as well as stories from mythology and history. Especially interesting for the modern era are those plays which present solutions of emotionally open conflicts. Reporting-about leads into intensive re-experiencing where the illusions of egoism are laid bare. The performative aesthetics fascinates, the psychological-spiritual process dissolves inner blockades, the integration of past and presence, of ghosts and men creates a mysterious depth (yugen).
AT JACOB’S WELL / YAKOBU NO IDO
An old Israeli guides a young Jewish immigrant through the Holy Lands, and they reach
Jacob’s well. An old Palestinian woman tells them the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at
this well and turns out to be her ghost. She waits for a Jew to again offer her water and to
feel, like then, never again thirst after drinking it. The two men resolve to oblige and do the
step towards her …
Original Text-Base for the Noh-play / English, Japanese and German (Kyogen/Cat-Scene)
Download play text
Link to the whole performance of AT JACOB'S WELL
Photo by TESSEN KAI
The TESSEN-KAI NOH-COMPAGNIE
The Tessen-kai Noh Theater Association is a renowned Noh performing organization led by the Kanze Tetsunojo family. It was established as a branch of the Kanze School in the early 18th century. After World War II, Kanze Hisao (1925–1978) led the renaissance of Noh and explored its potential. Hisao and Tessen-kai vigorously engaged in multi-disciplinary, international projects. Currently, Tessen-kai is led by Kanze Tetsunojo IX (b. 1956). While preserving the classical repertory, the organization creates new plays and actively looks for new ways of expression.
© TESSEN-KAI
ACTORS and AUTHORS
Kanji Shimizu (b. 1953) is a Noh master belonging to the Tessen-Kai Noh Theater
Association. Not only does he perform classical repertory but he also works on the creation
of contemporary Noh plays. He often collaborates with contemporary theater, dance, music,
and foreign traditional performing arts such as Kunqu in China.
Diethard Leopold, an Austrian psychotherapist, created, in cooperation with Kanji
Shimizu, the play „At Jacob’s Well“.
SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONS
ÖSTERREICHISCH-JAPANISCHE GESELLSCHAFT / AUSTRIAN-JAPANESE SOCIETY
website: www.oejg.org
Event on the official list of the Japanese Embassy in Austria in the jubilee year 2019: 150 years of friendly relations between Japan and Austria
TESSEN-KAI KYOSAI / Public Interest Incorp. Association