THE rape of a woman and the murder of her samurai husband, as told by four witnesses who all contradict each other, makes for a spellbinding movie.
Oh hey, it is, and Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 film Rashomon, which won many accolades, is set for a fourth restaging by The Actors Studio (TAS) come month end.
The story goes that the body of the samurai is discovered by a woodcutter. Just before the crime takes place, however, a priest passes the couple. Later, a bandit comes forward to claim responsibility for the crime, and the woodcutter and the priest are summoned to testify at the trial.
So begins the recounting of the crime.
But who is telling the truth? No two people ever experience an event exactly the same.
Today, we call this the Rashomon effect and the Rashomon principle. Some even say that multiple narratives offer only interpretations of something. It’s postmodernism. It’s post-truth. It’s even politics, I say.
For Rashomon director and TAS co-founder Joe Hasham, the 1950 story’s enduring appeal lies in that “never-ending question” of “who is telling the truth” where every character who testifies believes his or her version is correct.
“We question the honesty of each of the characters and they leave us confused as to whom we should believe.
“The question of trust is foremost in the unravelling of the story. Is it human to lie? Do we readily accept facts as presented to us? Do we question? Do we take sides? Do we just accept?
“Considering the above, I would think that the story and the set of circumstances is most relevant to Malaysia today.”
The TAS production is tri-lingual in its presentation: English, Japanese and Mandarin.
The 71-year-old Lebanese-born Hasham explains: “Both actors playing the central characters are Japanese, and the dialogue of these two characters is totally in Japanese.
“Combining the various languages into a cohesive form of communication that does not leave the audience confused or dissatisfied is, of course, difficult.”
Does having Japanese actors add to the complexity?
“Oh, absolutely! Having actors whose first language is Japanese adds enormously to the authenticity of the production. It is not only in their ability to speak Japanese with consummate ease but also their understanding of the Japanese ‘way’.”
GOOD AT BEING BAD
Reprising his role as the bandit Tajomaru from the 2013 staging is Japanese actor Doppo Narita, who has appeared in several productions by TAS.
“Actually, the previous staging of Rashomon and this Rashomon is quite different,” says Narita.
“The previous one was modernised as a Yakuza story in Osaka. This one is the original Rashomon following the exact time period and historical background. So even though I play the same character, this Tajomaru is quite different from the previous Tajomaru.
“My challenge is to create a character without traces of the previous Tajomaru. I’m speaking my lines in Japanese on stage. The language is also not modern Japanese. It’s old Japanese from 1140.
“Being a wild man in 1140 is my challenge,” says the 52-year-old, who made his debut on the Malaysian stage in Pulau Antara under the direction of Jo Kukathas in 2001.
He says he tries never to create a stereotypical character when he needs to become a bad man like Tajomaru, or Japanese bad soldier on stage and film.
“I believe even a bad man may have charm and good inside his character. I always try to discover and nurture this part,” says this Tokyo native, who has been cast several times as a stereotypically evil Japanese soldier in theatre work across the region, including Astro Citra’s Suatu Ketika: Sybil... Apa Dosaku?
“Discovering and growing the good part/side of the character is my challenge and the most interesting part of the process to create a character for me.
“For example, why did Tajomaru become a bandit?
“In my imagination, maybe, he had no choice because in the story of Rashomon, Japan was in the era of ‘suffering’ — maybe he was put by his mother at the entrance of a small temple as soon as he was born — similar to the very last scene when the man and the priest find a baby in Rashomon.
“He was left like the baby by his mother. So maybe he doesn’t know the meaning of love because he never got love from his mother,” says Narita, a seasoned actor in Japan and Southeast Asia with a Boh Cameronian theatre award nomination for Best Actor in 2015.
“I believe the audience must have a chance to feel something else besides the bad side of his character.
“Rashomon is a very old Japanese story but it also has a very universal theme. It all relates to the ego, the deep feelings in the background.
“Rashomon’s story happened at the end of the Heian-era around 1140-1190. Japan was in a very difficult time with big earthquakes, huge whirlwinds, fire, famine, floods, etc.
“People lost their houses and were suffering without food. The government also didn’t know what to do. People needed to survive but how?
“People’s ego and hidden emotions surfaced when there was great suffering. But in the end, people also found a small but valuable hope. That is the story.
“I believe there is a big value in this, to let the audience think about the meaning of life, what is a human being, what we need to do, and how to find hope in a difficult times.”
Narita, who has made Malaysia his home base for creating theatre, says the country, with its variety of cultures and people, offers many possibilities for intercultural performing arts.
“My dream is to create an amazing intercultural play.”
VARYING PERSPECTIVES
The other Japanese on stage for the TAS restaging is Maiya Goshima, who plays the wife.
An acclaimed ballet dancer and actress who is fluent in Japanese, French and English, Maiya last appeared on the Malaysian stage for TAS’ 2014 dance version of A Streetcar Named Desire.
Also in the cast are Datuk Faridah Merican (judge), Omar Ali (samurai), Lee Swee Keong (priest), Ho Lee Ching (the medium), Amelia Chen (gatekeeper 1), Chloe Tan (gatekeeper 2), Aiman Aiman (gatekeeper 3), Adam Hamizan (gatekeeper 4), Tristan Zijuin (gatekeeper 5), Nabil Musawir (man 1), Clarence Kuna (man 2) and Glamorique (court official).
Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre’s resident director Omar, 37, is experiencing a shift in perspectives with his role as the samurai.
“It’s a very interesting shift of perspective for me. I played the ‘Police Inspector’ in 2013 (or the ‘Judge’ character in this year’s version, played by Faridah).
“So it’s a shift from a character who is investigating the murder, to the one who was murdered. It’s shifting perspective within a play about shifting perspectives, among other things.
“One’s a character seeking out the truth, and the other gives his own account of the truth (or rather, his truth or what he wishes to maintain as the truth), as a witness to his own murder.
“It is that very shift in perspective that excites me about this staging. We get to play around with the Rashomon effect.
“Since there are four witness accounts, it’s an opportunity to explore four different versions of our characters, all possibly polar opposites of one another, depending on whose narrative it is.
“Sometimes we talk about the ‘Rashomon effect’ as if it’s something that occurs in specific, heightened situations in life... but the reality is we are all constantly subjected to it, whether we realise it or not.
“So a chance to actively explore it, play with it and bring life to it has been quite a fun yet sobering experience for me. Also, I get to berangan (dream) to be a samurai for a while, which is a childhood dream of mine!” says Omar who bagged the Best Director (Theatre) award at The 15th Boh Cameronian Arts Awards for Kandang in 2015.
Hasham says this latest production will present an original soundtrack by a team of musicians headed by Khairil Imran. The others are Coebar Abel, Endee Ahmad and Ian Francis Khoo.
“It’s akin to a film score, with music and special effects throughout the entire duration.
“Every production of Rashomon staged by TAS has relied heavily on the use of original music that’s played live. Live music helps to accentuate the dramatic highlights of the storytelling.
“The musicians will be able to see the action on stage via video and this allows them to react accordingly, in real time.”
Musical director Khairil reveals the play will feature Kabuki-style music — “with a twist”.
“We’ve given it some of our own touch. The music is very organic and percussive,” he says.
The merry band of friends, some of whom are actors, rehearsed the music for two weeks before joining the rest of the ensemble.
Hasham hopes Malaysians will be taken on a wonderful journey of confusion, beauty and truth.
“If the audience leaves the theatre not knowing which account of the ‘truth’ to believe, then I feel we would have succeeded.”
Rashomon
When: Feb 29-March 8, 8pm with Sunday 3pm matinees
Where: Pentas 1, KLPaC, Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, Sentul, KL
Admission: RM60-RM100 (Weekday Mania (March 3-4, 8pm, tickets at RM40 and RM60)
Call 03-4047 9000 (KLPaC), 03-7880 7999 (ProTicket) or visit www.proticket.com.my
Performed in English, Japanese, Mandarin and Malay, with surtitles in English and Japanese.
Show contains physical and sexual violence.