SOURCE: "Tokyo Theatre 1990," in Asian Theatre Journal, Vol. 9, No. 21, Spring, 1992, pp. 85-111.

In the following essay, Rolf offers a retrospective of trends in Japanese theater and discusses works by six contemporary Japanese playwrights.

Tokyo is the scene of extensive theatre activity. Besides the well-known older forms, the world of nontraditional Japanese theatre has expanded. Indeed, a recent directory lists one hundred and seventy-five such troupes based in Tokyo. This theatre, of twentieth-century origin, will be the sole focus here. Of the great number of theatre productions in 1990, six will be described to convey the nature of theatre in Tokyo today. Criteria for selection take into account both the play's intrinsic interest and the manner and significance of its performance. The six performances provide an introduction to many of the theatre artists who are best responding to the circumstances of theatre today. Performances were chosen from fifty seen in...