Honestly,
when I heard about Disappearance I had absolutely no idea what to
expect. At the time I barely understood what a Noh play was, and from that I
could tell that it was a theater form sticking to a very strict tradition. So
the idea that the form could be modernized was a complete shock for me. If I
did not know what to expect from a Noh play, a modernized Noh play was even
further into the field of the unknown. When I heard people talking about it
they called it a “play on crack.” That threw me even further off. I could not
tell if the play was going to be a comedy or not. When I walked into the
theater to see the performance, all I truly knew about the performance was
about how upset Guru was about this quote from the Flat Hat: “I
can say without reservation that “Disappearance” is the worst theatrical
production I have ever seen on this campus.” That quote made me very upset,
simply because no matter what a play is like, it does not deserve such harsh
criticism. That, and I knew that the reviewer had fallen asleep during the
performance so he had no right to say such harsh things about a play he had not
even watched the entirety of. Being miffed, I have to admit I walked into Disappearance
absolutely determined to like it. And I did not even have to be determined.
Disappearance
was a beautiful play that brought forth elements from Noh Theater and allowed
them to be modernized. Set around Christmas, the play follows several
characters, including two brothers, who move about in and out of a single flat.
Set in an unknown country all the audience truly knows is that there was
recently a war that displaced many people. Also, the government built a second
moon that was a failed project, and chances are most of the people on the
colony have starved to death. The play takes time to explore the back stories
of each of the characters you are introduced to, each holding their own
importance to the story. Knowing so much about the characters, when things
begin to go wrong you can be attached enough to them to feel sad as their lives
go downhill. The play brings the audience to the peak of emotion, only to leave
it without a release, something Noh plays do often. I myself was brought to the
point of tears, but I did not end up crying, because the play pulled back away
from the sad pieces of the story just before a single tear could fall. The
story was deeply beautiful, and actually had you think about each of the
characters and relationships between friends, family, and those you love.
Though I missed the point that the little brother was a robot, I thought for
the entire play that he was a reanimated corpse, the meaning of the
relationship between him and his brother were very real. The setting of the play,
with entrances and exits, four winds, chorus, and pine tree in the background encompass
the basics of a Noh play. It was a beautifully written and well-performed
piece. I would definitely enjoy seeing another Noh play performed at the
College in the future.