In Japan, famous for its bunraku tradition, a diverse and hybrid contemporary theatre scene has developed under the influence of and in collaboration with Western theatre-makers. This has inspired Mari Boyd's ‘“not-bunraku” study of material theatre’ (p. xiv), this being Boyd's preferred term for theatre in which a variety of non-human objects become the main performers. Part One of the book sketches the shifting relationship between actors, performing objects and digital technology. These variations in performance methods and types of performer are illustrated by three selected plays in Part Two.
The hybrid nature of contemporary theatre distorts genre boundaries, creates new terms and tests the limits of familiar language. These modifications are prominent in Boyd's analysis of contemporary Japanese material performance, which reflects on the chosen material images and also demonstrates how Japanese neo-animism emphasizes the search for a communal spirituality and an equal relationship with the non-human. The generic term ‘performing-object’ which Boyd uses exceeds traditional definitions of puppetry to include performative techniques and the use of images such as computer graphics, robots and digital technology. Like puppets, performing-objects involve some kind of human control, but at the same time have a broader range of reference than the term ‘puppet’, which Boyd reserves for conventional puppetry. The term ‘performing-figure’ instead of ‘performing-object’ is used by Boyd to draw a clear distinction between humanoid and non-human images.
The introduction of Western object theatre to Japan in the late twentieth century inspired local artists to explore performance material for adults as a socially relevant expression of, and approach to, a post-human world. In this process of collaboration and assimilation, performing-objects, their manipulators and actors have become equal players. This is illustrated in the discussion of relevant productions (pp. 24–37) by Japanese theatre artists who participated in three significant theatre projects since 1998: Alternative & Material Theatre Project, the ITO Project and the Object Performance Collage. These projects have served as platforms for the modification of the discourse and created a paradigm shift towards an ‘open theatricality’ (p. 23) which allows all elements of material theatre to play a meaningful role in performance.
Cultural globalization has led to intracultural and intercultural changes in Japanese material theatre. The three plays in Part Two (Amano's Heitaro's Yokai Diary, Yamamoto's Choan and the Ripped Umbrella: Heisei Trick Peep Show and Tanino's Avidya: The Dark Inn) serve as examples of intracultural changes in which human and cultural resources, performance methods, the types and ratios of performing-objects, manipulators and actors, and fictional time vary.
Bunraku seems to play a very limited role in intracultural material performance. As highlighted by Boyd (pp. 78–83), local respect for the traditional form and the desire for authenticity have largely discouraged the modification or deconstruction of bunraku and this has consequently limited adaptations.
Shakespearean productions (pp. 84–8) form part of the expansion of intercultural material theatre. In some of the localized hybrid material theatre productions the characters have increasingly taken on non-human characteristics, at times looking more like ‘postmodern toy robots’ (p. 85). Some radical experimental hybridization has challenged, reinvented and subverted the original works and a number of these productions toured Europe, revealing Japan's ability to create excellent ‘not-bunraku’ theatre. Some adaptations – for example those by Noriyuki Sawa (pp. 86–7) – have served as material for new work which showcases the ability of contemporary material theatre to absorb different performing objects, including masks.
The dynamic relationship between technology and performing objects, and the rapid development of digitalization and robotics, have ‘radically transformed the performing arts’ (p. 100) and go far beyond what is usually called mixed-media theatre. Although limited in number, Japan's human–android co-performances should be of interest to all scholars interested in theatre and robotics.
Of equal significance is Japan's New Mixed Media Theatre, a hybrid of actor–object performance in theatre as a ‘hypermedium’ (p. 125) that can absorb an unlimited variety of other media. This convergence of theatre with the new media provides opportunities for new staging techniques and viewing experiences for audiences.
Contemporary theatre is an ever-evolving landscape. Boyd succeeds in capturing the present scene in Japan and at the same time offers valuable insight into the possibilities of a variable relationship in performance between actors, performing objects (old and new) and digital technology which could expand the gap even more between contemporary and traditional concepts and practices.
