Reproduction And Performance Of Oedipus The King(2004) By Yukio Ninagawa

It has been more than 40 years since the concept of "cross-cultural drama" was proposed by Richard Scheckner,an American scholar.In the criticism and praise,cross-cultural drama gradually became known in the theater circle in the second half of the 20th century.There were experimenters and explorers of cross-cultural drama in both the east and the West.Director Yukio Ninagawa,who is famous for integrating traditional Japanese elements into Western classics from an eastern perspective,is one of the most representative figures.In his nearly 50 years of directing career,Yukio Ninagawa has adapted the ancient Greek classic tragedy Oedipus the King for many times,which shows Ninagawa’s attention and thinking to this work.As a tragic example,Oedipus the King has been adapted and staged many times in the world since its birth.How will classical works and modern stages,Western stories and eastern elements be combined under Japanese director Yukio Ninagawa? This paper will focus on the version staged by Yukio Ninagawa in Adicus Concert Hall in Greece in 2004,which is also the only one to be performed overseas.From the two aspects of script adaptation and stage performance,this paper will analyze Ninagawa’s performance techniques and performance intentions,and explore the cross-cultural and universal nature of the stage performance mixed into it.This paper is divided into three chapters.The first chapter examines the ancient Greek drama,especially the performance of Oedipus the King in Japan,and concretely sorts out the stages of Oedipus the King directed by Yukio Ninagawa in chronological order.The second chapter,by comparing the new version adopted by Yukio Ninagawa in 2004 with other plays and interpreting the audience’s comments on the new version,analyzes the characteristics of Yukio Ninagawa’s new play and explores its intention to adopt the new version.The third chapter discusses the crosscultural nature of Yukio Ninagawa’s drama stage from five aspects,including stage structure,props,character modeling,music and actors’ acting skills,which are presented by using many Asian elements including Japan in western drama works.In this paper,Yukio Ninagawa’s 2004 Greek public performance of Oedipus the King is discussed as a successful case of cross-cultural drama.On the one hand,it affirms the significance of cross-cultural drama,on the other hand,it summarizes the problems existing in the staging of cross-cultural drama by eastern directors,and reveals the enlightenment Ninagawa’s stage provides to Asian theatermakers and researchers engaged in cross-cultural drama.In other words,Japanese beauty is not limited to visual props and costumes,but is expressed through classical bodies and music honed by traditional arts.In addition,Ninagawa prefers to create an overall Asian mood rather than Japanese style to fully show the sense of confrontation against Western drama.This is the different identity of eastern actors and western directors when staging cross-cultural dramas.