Yukio Ninagawa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yukio Ninagawa
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| 蜷川 幸雄 | |
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| Born | October 15, 1935 Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan
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| Died | May 12, 2016 (aged 80) Tokyo, Japan
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| Occupation | Theatre director, film director, actor |
| Years active | 1969–2016 |
| Spouse(s) | Tomoko Mayama |
| Family | Mika Ninagawa (daughter) Toshimitsu Picasso (relative) |
Yukio Ninagawa (蜷川 幸雄, Ninagawa Yukio, October 15, 1935 – May 12, 2016) was a famous Japanese theatre and film director. He was also an actor. He was especially known for directing plays by William Shakespeare and ancient Greek tragedies in Japanese. He even directed the play Hamlet eight different times! Ninagawa also taught at the Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music.
He was well-known around the world for his plays based on European classics. But he also directed many plays by Japanese writers. For example, he directed plays by Yukio Mishima and Shūji Terayama. His play Titus Andronicus was performed in England in 2006. In 2007, his company performed Coriolanus in London.
Life and Career
In 1955, Yukio Ninagawa joined a theatre group called "Seihai." Later, in 1967, he started his own theatre company, "Gendaijin-Gekijo." He directed his first play in 1969. After his first company ended, he started another one called "Sakura-sha" in 1972.
A big change happened for Ninagawa in 1974. A theatre producer named Tadao Nakane asked him to direct bigger plays. This led him to direct a Shakespeare play for the first time: Romeo and Juliet. From then on, he became one of the most celebrated directors in theatre. In 1998, he promised to direct all of Shakespeare's plays. In 2000, he directed a very long play called Greeks, which lasted ten and a half hours!
Ninagawa started touring his plays overseas in 1983 with Medea. He became very famous in Europe, the US, and Canada. He was invited to London for three years in a row to present his plays. He also worked with the famous Royal Shakespeare Company to present King Lear in London.
Yukio Ninagawa won many awards in Japan. He also received special degrees from universities in the UK. His daughter, Mika Ninagawa, is also a famous photographer and film director.
Ninagawa continued to create new and exciting plays with young actors in his "Ninagawa Studio." In 2006, he started a new theatre group for people over 55 years old. It was called "Saitama Gold Theatre" and was based in Saitama Arts Theatre.
Yukio Ninagawa passed away in Tokyo on May 12, 2016, at the age of 80.
Notable Stage Directions
Yukio Ninagawa directed many famous plays throughout his career. Here are some of the well-known plays he directed:
- 1974: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
- 1975: King Lear by William Shakespeare
- 1976: Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
- 1978: Medea by Euripides
- 1978: Hamlet by William Shakespeare
- 1980: NINAGAWA Macbeth by William Shakespeare
- 1987: The Tempest by William Shakespeare
- 1990: Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen
- 1994: A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
- 1994: Othello by William Shakespeare
- 1995: Shintoku-maru by Shuji Terayama
- 1999: King Richard III by William Shakespeare
- 2003: The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov
- 2004: Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare
- 2005: Medea (second version)
- 2007: Coriolanus by William Shakespeare
- 2008: King Lear (fourth version)
- 2009: The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare
- 2009: Musashi by Hisashi Inoue
Film Directions
Yukio Ninagawa also directed a few films:
- 1981: Masho no natsu (The Summer of Evil Spirits)
- 2003: The Blue Light
- 2004: Warau Iemon
- 2008: Hebi ni piasu (based on the novel Snakes and Earrings)
