The director Maxime Kurvers furthers his research in theatrical anthropology by bringing the actress Yuri Itabashi face-to-face with the ban which prevents her, in accordance with tradition, from performing Okina, a play and ritual originating from nō theatre. As such, this piece is about how, through the power of the imagination, we can embrace what is forbidden to us.

Over the course of his long-term investigations into the history of theatre, Maxime Kurvers has become increasingly interested in the nō tradition, a form of Japanese dance theatre that has remained faithful to the various codes established in the 15th century. Within this repertoire, Okina distinguishes itself in terms of its storyline and modes of representation. With its roots in Buddhist ceremony, the piece is structured around three sacred dances and, due to its religious character, is strictly to be performed by men only. Women are not allowed to perform it. As part of a double logic to circumvent and make amends, the director entrusts Yuri Itabashi, an actress from contemporary Japanese theatre with the task of overcoming this cultural impossibility of re-enacting the play. The paths she takes, namely those of the spoken word and dance, take us on a journey through reminiscences of an agrarian form of theatre which pre-dated the existence of nō theatre, to the examination of a contemporary reality that allows bans placed on women to perpetuate. The piece becomes a gesture of empowerment in the hands of this actress for whom nothing is no longer impossible.

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Vincent Théval for the Festival d'Automne à Paris, 2024

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