Sing, Dance, Act: Kabuki featuring Toma Ikuta

I have never seen a Kabuki before and now I see how early storytelling happened in Japan. Seeing the friendship between Toma Ikuta and Matsuya Onoe was really cool as well. They have that level of companionship which comes after many years of knowing each other almost to the point of brotherhood. I am now actually watching the actual Kabuki which is also featured on Netflix so I am happy to view it as an audience member rather than the snippets of the behind the scenes this provided.

I watched this after seeing the remarkable Kabuki debut of Toma Ikuta in Akadou Suzunosuke. This behind the scenes documentary of his performance in a new Kabuki play was a revelation. I learned so much about Kabuki and the traditions of Classical Japanese theatre. It was so heartwarming to see the cast helping Ikuta to embrace a completely new way of acting for him. His long-standing friendship with Matsuya Onoe was explored so nicely by seeing how Onoe mentored him in classic Kabuki moves like his incredible roppo. This should whet your appetite to watch the whole Kabuki play the rehearsals here prepare for. Absolutely fantastic and one of the best things I've seen in a long time.