A Male Transformation into a Female Character on the Noh Stage

Abstract

Femininity and the feminine figure itself in Noh theatre plays an important role, though nowadays the interpreter is fundamentally masculine. The central aim of impersonating feminine roles by masculine performers, and therefore creating the masculine femininity consists of transmitting the spirit and the state of mind in place of ordinary copies of external femininity signs. That is the basis of the work of interpretation of the actor in the Noh theatre, similar in the case of both male and female roles. However, this paper will examine the technique in both occasions, and the difference in the event that there is a difference.

Keywords

• Noh stage
• impersonating
• masculine femininity
• feminine figure
• Zeami