In search of Hana: Expectations, notions and practice of theatre

Hana (3-4 April 2018)

by NUS Theatre Studies Theatre Lab
Venue: UCC Theatre

What is your expectation of a “theatre”? Is there a way to view theatre? The notion of theatre has been challenged throughout history. This is not the first time that “theatre” is questioned. 

However, what makes Hana of value in today’s context?

Hana is theatre, and yet it is beyond theatre.

While the dramaturgy of Hana could be done more coherently, is logical coherency the only means to measure a good piece of watchable theatre?

What about the coherence of organicity displayed by the performers?

While it could be difficult to follow the “story” of Hana with a logical mind, it was not difficult to ride on the natural flow of the organic bodies and voice work demonstrated by the craftsmen (the performers).

The craftsmen experimented, interrogated and challenged their state of being within the theatre space in search of “hana”— which means the flower of youth of a performer in Japanese theatre. In the process of confronting their craftsmanship as well as texts from the predecessors of the theatre, organicity of each craftsman was illustrated with unique individual characteristics within a synergized ensemble work. The performers were especially unison in their voice work and their texts filled the theatre space with mastery in projection, articulation and richness in vocalics.

Audience interactions which took place in the piece were unforced and natural. The invocation of the audience to view theatre with different perspectives was established in the beginning of the journey of the search.  As an audience, I rode on the breath of the performers, from one to the next, and was carried through the waves of encountering and confronting the age-long subject of “theatre” in an in-depth and truthful manner.

It reminded me of the following words of theatre master Peter Brook:

“The purpose of theatre is… making an event in which a group of fragments are suddenly brought together… in a community which, by the natural laws that make every community, gradually breaks up… At certain moments this fragmented world comes together and for a certain time it can rediscover the marvel of organic life. The marvel of being one.”

Hana was presented by students of NUS Theatre Studies under the module “Theatre Lab” led by Ang Gey Pin, with the aim of providing a practice-based and experiential learning as their key mode of study. While the final product might not comprise the conventional elements of a “finished work”, it was no doubt a precious experiential reflective and learning path for both the audience and the students.