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Noh and Kyogen theatre
 Noh
(pronounced "no") theatre is one of the classical Japanese forms of stage
performance. Noh and its more light hearted and humorous sister art
Kyogen are often performed together in traditional theater houses within
large Japanese cities. In the past, formal Noh/Kyogen performances
would last all day with several heavy and serious Noh dramas of different
genres being performed with periodic Kyogen performances between these to
give the audience a break and a chance to laugh.
  Noh
actors are
always male (even the ones dressed as women), and normally share the
stage with an orchestra of traditional Japanese musicians as well as a choir.
The actors recite their lines in old Japanese style (most Japanese can't
understand them and must follow the story with a written script) sung with
trailing syllables oscillating with flowing emphasis. Noh and
Kyogen actors often wear masks to help them better portray the character
they are playing or to lend
emphasis to key points of their performance. With the exception
of demon masks (which are very expressive) most Noh/Kyogen masks
are neutral in expression, requiring the actor to indicate emotion exclusively
through subtle body movements. The craft of making
Noh and Kyogen masks is an important Japanese art form in itself
and many masks (particularly the dramatic demon and god masks) are collected by
Japanese and foreign enthusiasts of Japanese culture.
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