Question: Japanese Noh documentary on PBS?

felix — Thu, 26 May 2005 12:24:05 -0800

In an interview in The Comics Journal, Dirk Deppy is talking about surrealism with Flaming Carrot author Bob Burden, when suddenly a remembered moment from a public television Japanese Noh Drama documentary leaps off the page...

"DEPPEY: I think if I had to pinpoint the most surreal thing I've ever seen it would have to be a PBS special I saw as an early teenager on Japanese Noh theater, which is sort of the grotesque version of Kabuki. The special opened up with what seemed like this eight-minute shot of a woman who was bare from the middle of her breasts on up. It was a very tight angle, close-up shot of that, with her head tilted way back, looking over her shoulder at the camera with this utterly maniacal gleam in her eyes -- like she was about to devour a kitten or something. After about a minute of this, a little patch of saliva began slowly sliding out of the side of her mouth, slowly running down her chin, slowly running down her neck. Everything else was absolutely still..."

OK, where the heck is this from, and does anyone have either a source for the documentary, or the visual which it documents, or the play which contains the visual? Because I remember this too, and it's driving me mad. (small patch of saliva drools down chin)

By: PinkStainlessTail

PinkStainlessTail — Thu, 26 May 2005 12:29:24 -0800

I don't remember this specific one, but it sounds more like butoh than noh.

Comments on: Japanese Noh documentary on PBS?

Question: Japanese Noh documentary on PBS?

By: PinkStainlessTail