Based on the achievements of the Noh Reimagined Festival delivered in the UK and Europe since 2016, the project aims to establish an open and creative platform through genuine collaborations between Noh tradition and Western contemporary artists. The activities include organizing festivals, performances, and workshops, building partnerships with domestic and international artistic groups, conducting programming research, and developing methods for working with international artists. Noh Reimagined aims to showcase the results and values of new cultural creation through Noh in contemporary times.

【First year】
The 3rd Noh Reimagined Festival featured performances of classical Noh plays, including “Wisteria” and “Kurozu ka (Black Mound),” as well as premieres of three commissioned works by British artists: Thick & Tight (dance), Cerith Wyn Evans (contemporary arts), and Verity Lane (composer and director). The festival also included workshops, seminars, talks, and other related events.
Dates: June 24-25, 2022
Venue: Kings Place (London, UK)

【Second year】
1. Development of workshop methods for collaborations with international artists.

2. Establishing partnerships for the Year 3 project and beyond.

3. Creation of a short video and editing of the project’s website for Noh Reimagined 2022 festival.

4. An event in collaboration with Taka Ishii Gallery in Tokyo: Cerith Wyn Evans’ “Green Room w/ attendant mirrors…” (engaging with Kagami-ita). In response to an installation artwork by Welsh conceptual artist Cerith Wyn Evans, Sano Noboru and Isso Yukihiro performed an improvised piece. Sano incorporated the mirror concept from the installation, drawing inspiration from the Noh play “Nomori,” while Isso explored the concept of Kekkai or “boundary” depicted in the artwork.
Date: April 28, 2023 (Friday)
Venue: Taka Ishii Gallery (Minato-ku, Tokyo)

【Third Year】
(1) Conducted Noh workshops in three cities in the UK.
Content: Noboru Sano traveled to the UK and held workshops on Noh movements and chants, developed in the second year, at The Place, a hub for contemporary dance, Sheffield University, and the CBSO Center, the home of a contemporary music group in Birmingham.
Date: September 20-26
Venue: The Place (London, UK), Sheffield University, CBSO Center (Birmingham).

(2) Held a Tokyo performance of Noh Re-Imagine.
Content: The British dance duo Thick & Tight, which premiered the new work “Two Moths in Real Time” and collaborated with Noh musicians in the performance of “12 Beats of Sanbaso” at the 2022 Noh Re-Imagine (London performance), came to Japan for a triumphant performance with Noh musicians.
Date: October 31
Venue: Tessenkai Noh Training Institute (Minato, Tokyo)

(3) Conducted workshops for contemporary music composers.
Content: Based on a guide to Noh music for composers conceived and written by Tatsushi Narita and Daryl Jemieson in the second year, intensive four-day workshops were held for two promising young British composers in Tokyo. Additionally, online workshops were held for ten overseas composers.
Date: December 7-10 (Tokyo). November 18 (online)
Venue: Various locations in Tokyo, online

(4) Conducted the 75th Aldeburgh Music Festival performance of “Sumidagawa” and the 4th Noh Re-Imagine Festival.
Content: In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the world premiere of the opera “Curlew River,” composed under the strong influence of “Sumidagawa,” which was experienced during a visit to Japan in 1956, the festival invited the performance of “Sumidagawa.” In addition to the explanation of “Sumidagawa,” a storytelling piece titled “A Tale of Sumida River” was commissioned to a British storyteller and performed. At the 4th Noh Re-Imagine Festival, the same program as the Aldeburgh Music Festival was presented on the first day, while “Kinuta” was performed on the second day. On the second day, basic and advanced workshops on Noh movements and Noh music were held, and the premieres of works influenced by Noh from two British contemporary composers who conducted workshops during their visit were performed by the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group in Birmingham. Related talks took place as part of the Noh Re-Imagine Festival program.
Date: June 18-22, 2024
Venue: Aldeburgh Festival, Kings Place (London), CBSO Center (Birmingham)