English Noh play 'Oppenheimer' will be performed in Japan for the first time in conjunction with the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Insets: Allan Marret (Emeritus Professor, University of Sydney. lower centre), Richard Emmert (founder of Theater Nohgaku and a professor at Musashino University in Tokyo. upper left), Japanese Noh actor Sadamu Omura (upper right). Credit: The Yanai initiative
It was set in Hiroshima. The main character (Shite), Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb”, becomes a ghost, and every year, experiences the people's suffering caused by the bomb. But it was not a story of Oppenheimer's redemption. We spoke to Allan Marett (Emeritus Professor at the University of Sydney and the author of the play), Richard Emmert (Professor at Musashino University in Tokyo, the composer and the founder of a English Noh troupe Theatre Nohgaku), and a Japanese Noh performer Sadamu Omura.
It was set in Hiroshima. The main character (Shite), Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb”, becomes a ghost, and every year, experiences the people's suffering caused by the bomb. But it was not a story of Oppenheimer's redemption. We spoke to Allan Marett (Emeritus Professor at the University of Sydney and the author of the play), Richard Emmert (Professor at Musashino University in Tokyo, the composer and the founder of a English Noh troupe Theatre Nohgaku), and a Japanese Noh performer Sadamu Omura.
'Oppenheimer' will be performed at the Kita Noh Theatre in Tokyo on August 6 (the bombing of Hiroshima) and Aug 9 (the bombing of Nagasaki).
'Oppenheimer' was premiered in Australia in 2015. The performance in Sydney is available to watch on YouTube for free.
Listen to SBS Japanese Audio on Tue, Thu and Fri from 1pm on SBS 3.
