新御園座 NEW MISONOZA THEATER

新御園座　

　今、名古屋で歌舞伎をみるなら御園座ではなく、愛知芸術劇場か日本特殊陶業市民会館に行かなければならない。御園座が２０１３年３月に壊されて、新御園座を建てているからだ。先日、市民会館で「河内山）」「藤娘」「芝翫奴」を見て来たが、全然歌舞伎の雰囲気がなかった。

まず、花道がいただけない。花道は座席を３列ぐらい取り外して作ってあった。まあ、臨時にしてはよくできた花道であったが、間に合わせは間に合わせでしかない（「すっぽん」はどうするんだろう）。
次に、回り舞台がない。例えば「河内山」。第２幕（屋敷の中）が終わって第３幕（玄関先）に変わるとき、御園座では第２幕の場面がそのまま舞台で回転して舞台の裏に隠れていくと、第３幕の場面が裏から表に回転してきて正面に出てくる。観客が見ている目の前で舞台が変わるのだ。しかし、市民会館はそうはいかない。第２幕が終わると、いったん緞帳が下りる。観客席は薄明かりがつき、緞帳の奥でカンカンカンと大道具を設置している金槌の音や大道具係の話し声が聞こえる。待つこと５分ぐらい。やっと、三味線や拍子木が鳴って緞帳があがる。回り舞台の醍醐味が味わえないのは残念なことだ（「どんでんがえし」はどうするのだろう）。
さらに、緞帳がいけない。市民会館の緞帳は大きな鶴をあしらった明るいデザインだが、何ともいただけない。やはり。歌舞伎特有の茶、緑、黒の縦縞模様の幕でないと歌舞伎を見ている気にならない。
早く御園座ができて、本格的な歌舞伎を名古屋でも見たいものだ。新御園座が完成するのは２０１８年春という。建築に５年もかかる。あの新歌舞伎座が４年で（２０１０年４月～２０１３年３月）できたというのに御園座は歌舞伎座より一年も長く時間がかかる。時間がかかりすぎではないか。　

NEW MISONOZA THEATER

 

 

　　If you want to see kabuki in Nagoya, you have to go to Aichi Art Theater or Nihon Tokushutogyo Civic Hall, because Misonoza, a theater for kabuki performance, closed in March, 2013 and the new Mizonoza is now under construction.
　　I went to the civic hall to see kabuki plays on July 24. They were Kochiyama, Fujimusume, and Shikan-yakko. To my regret, I did not enjoy them fully because the civic hall stage was not meant for performing kabuki.
　　First, hanamichi (a raised passage through the audience to the stage) was a makeshift. Usually an ordinary theater like the civic hall does not have hanamichi. So, they made a temporary hanamichi in order to show kabuki. They removed three rows of seats and replaced them with hanamichi. It was well made, but a fake is a fake. (There was no suppon or square hole in the fake hanamichi.)
　　Next, there was no mawari-butai (a revolving stage). Take Kochiyama for example. When the second act that takes place in a guest room ends, the turntable stage turns clockwise, disappearing to the back. Then, the third act stage, which is the front gate scene, appears from behind as the turntable stage revolves. Mawari-butai enables quick change of scenes.
　　However, since the civic hall did not have mawari-butai, the curtain dropped when the first act ended. Then, the audience seats became bright, and I heard the noise of hammers and talking of the stage carpenters from behind the curtain. They were working hard to change the stage scenes as soon as possble. After about a five-minute waiting, I heard the sound of the shamisen string and the striking of clappers, the signal sound of the opening of the next act. Then, the curtain was raised revealing the new scene. Waiting for the new scene for five minutes ruins the flow of the kabuki drama. (How do they perform dondengaeshi or changing stage scenes by turning them over backward to introduce another?)
Thirdly, the design of the curtain was not suitable for kabuki plays. The curtain had a design of a large silver-colored crane against light blue. It was beautiful, but it did not use the typical kabuki curtain design, which consists of vertical-striped colors of brown, green, and black. This three-colored curtain is the symbol of kabuki. You can’t do without it.
　　I am looking forward to the completion of the new Misonoza-theater. The construction finishes in the spring of 2018. It takes five long years. It took four years to build the new Kabuki-za theater (April, 2014 to March, 2013). The new Mizonoza will take one more year than the new Kabuki-za. It takes too long a time.