Bitef

figures, the guttural cries, the flashing swords as four men e igage in exquisitely aggressive and rapid duelling, and the insistent sounds of instrumental music. It's all very beautiful, but surely they're asking for psychic participation, and surely I'm reducing the event to decorative demonstration. (Arthur Sailer, Voice, 6. 7. 1978)

vise od folklora Yoshi and Company prikazali su dramske prizore iz j panske mitoloske i legendarne proslosti. Odabrali su tri epizode iz drevne tradicije. Uprvoj se govori о mitu grckog Orfeja, и drugoj о varijacijama na temu о mitu svuda prisutnog Sunca, dok и poslednjoj vidimo neobicnu slicnost sa starim nemackim bajkama о macevima i herojima. Ovom opaskom ne mislim da umanjim originalnost japanskih bajki vec samo da ukazem na mogucu podudarnost njihove istorije sa istorijom drugih naroda. Originalnost japanskog nacina prikazivanja je ocigledna. Sve se zasniva na pozorisnim pokretima, a и osnovi ovih pokreta lezi kendo, japanska vestina barbe palicama i macevima, koja и stilizovanom obliku prikazuje snagu i spretnost japanskih vitezova. S vremena na vreme igraci glasno izvikuju neke, za mene sasvim nerazumljive tekstove, koji su, izgleda, isto tako nepojmljivi i za danasnje Japance, sudeci po informacijama и programu. Ovaj pies naglasenim ritmom prate muzikanti, koji iz najneobicnijih instrumenata izvlace svakovrsne cudne zvuke. Predstava je pretezno sva и pokretnim scenama uglavnom su to borbe macevima i palicama koje se povremeno prekidaju и stilizovanim zastojima. lako se tokom igre ne maze odmah shvatiti sustina simbolickog prikazivanja, ostaje opsti utisak о jednom neobicnom i privlacnom spektaklu. Oni nose svoju poruku, punu napetosti, koja ipak dopusta pojedinim igracima da ispolje svoj licni dar. Ako zbivanja na pozornici pratite pazljivo i objektivno, postace vam jasno da se ovde radi о песеты dubljem nego sto je folklor. Time ce vam biti omogucen pristup jednoj drevnoj kulturi i drustvu. (Daniel de Lange, De Volkskrant, 25. maja 1978)

beyond folklore In the Mickery Yoshi and Company gives a dramatic picture of the ' mythological and legendary background of Japanese culture.

They have chosen three episodes from the oldest fixed tradition, the first of which is reminiscent of the Greek Orpheus myth, the second a noteworthy variation of the omnipresent sun myth, and the last shows kinship with the old german tales of Swords and héros. I do not mean to take away from the originality of the Japanese tales with these remarks but to point out similarities in the history of our own culture which perhaps make it possible to relate to them. The originality of the Japanese forms is evident in the performance. It is built up as a movement theatre; the source of the movements is Kendo, the Japanese art of stick and sword fighting, which forms in the stylizing of power and dexterity a résumé of the Japanese Knight culture. From time to time the players burst out with loaded texts, which were immpossible for me to understand, but also for the modern day Japanese when one may believe the program information. The play movement is supported rhythmically and emotionally by a musician who elicits all sorts of bizarre sounds from one of the most curious assembling of instruments. The performance is made up mostly of mobile episodes, especially sword and stick fights, interspersed with stylized rest points. Even when one cannot immediately understand the many symbolic representations in the course of the movements, they remain of themselves an unussually captivating spectacle. It has its own message of strong tension, which nevertheless allows the individual player-dancer to display his won talent. From a great simplicity of presentation a visual dramatic is showed which grabs the spectator. Whoever takes the trouble to read through the program information beforehand finds in it support for a deeper understanding of the actions. When one simply holds one's eyes and ears unbiasedly open, one makes aquaintance with something which goes far beyond the folklore. The performance opens up the internal movement of a centuries-old society and culture. (Daniel de Lange, De Volkskrant, May 25, 1978)