'Sorya! A Candide Dispute': Genre-fusing fun
Japanese translation
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Reyhan Harmanci
A 600-year-old traditional Japanese storytelling genre might have more in common with Voltaire's famous satire on class stratification, "Candide," than you might think.
To prove it, San Francisco's 25-year-old Theatre of Yugen will hold its fifth annual Sorya! (an expression meaning "wow!") production, interweaving Yuriko Doi's new translation of the classic Japanese comedy "A Religious Dispute" (Shuron) with "Candide" adapted in traditional Kyogen style.