Director Maxime Kurvers continues his work of theatrical anthropology by confronting actress Yuri Itabashi with the prohibition imposed on her by tradition to perform Okina, a play and ritual of Noh theater. Or how, through imagination, to embrace what is denied to her.
Over the course of a long-term work on the history of theatre, Maxime Kurvers became interested in the nō tradition, a Japanese dance theatre that remained faithful to codes formalised in the 15th century. In this repertoire, Okina stands out for its history and its modes of representation. Relating to the Buddhist ceremony, the piece is structured around three sacred dances and – due to its religious nature – is strictly performed by men. Women are not allowed to perform it. In a dual logic of circumvention and repair, the director entrusts Yuri Itabashi, an actress from contemporary Japanese theatre, with the task of overcoming this cultural impossibility of embodying the piece. The paths she takes – speech and dance – pass through the reminiscence of an agrarian theatre prior to nō and the examination of a contemporary reality that perpetuates the prohibitions against women. A gesture of empowerment from an actress for whom nothing is impossible.

Vincent Théval for the Autumn Festival in Paris, 2024

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