Humour Knows No Borders

Katsura Sunshine wants the world to know about Rakugo and is taking a big leap of faith to turn this dream into reality when he presents a hilarious evening of this ancient Japanese comedic art form at the Winter Garden Theatre. Toronto-born Katsura Sunshine, has succeeded in attracting new Rakugo fans with his innate ability to give English-speaking audiences as close to the same experience that a Japanese audience has listening to Rakugo in Japanese. The last stop on his North American Tour, Sunshine’s English-language Toronto debut is a one-night-only performance slated for Saturday, October 5, 2013.

Emerging as new star in English-language Rakugo, Katsura Sunshine Katsura Sunshine was recently named Cultural Ambassador by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan.  He is Canadian playwright/composer/ performer Greg Robic whose musical adaptation of Aristophanes’ classical comedy Clouds enjoyed a 15-month critically acclaimed run and Canadian national tour (1994-1996), and still holds an as-yet-unbroken record in Canada as the longest-running musical ever written by a Canadian. His long list of accomplishments now also includes being the first person of non-Japanese descent, in the 400-year-old history of Rakugo in the Osaka tradition, to be granted an apprenticeship with famed Rakugo Master Katsura Bunshi VI (formerly Katsura Sanshi). Bunshi VI is widely regarded as the most prolific creator of Rakugo stories in the history of the art form with a body of work that includes over 230 stories.

While invitations to perform have been garnered from across North America, this hometown performance holds special significance for Sunshine, who is in keeping with tradition, is informally addressed by his Japanese given name. “The Winter Garden Theatre has always been one of my favourite venues. Its opulence and history along with its intimacy offers an ideal setting for Rakugo, which is an experience that requires the performer and audience to be equally immersed in the exchange,” Sunshine explains. “For me, the evening will be a success if the people of Toronto are as enraptured with the art of Rakugo as I was when I first experienced it”.

A Rakugo performance involves a lone performer sitting on stage and aided only by the use of two props: a fan and a small cloth. Stories generally take the form of a dialogue between two characters whom the performer portrays simply by changing vocal pitch, tone, and with a slight turn of the head. Each story always ends with a Rakugo, which translates to “falling word” or punch line in English. But Rakugo is so much more than a storyteller on a stage; the storyteller’s relationship with the audience is part of the experience as well.

The basis for learning how to read an audience has its roots in Shugyo, the rigorous apprenticeship training a storyteller has to undergo. Katsura Sunshine overcame overwhelming odds in order to become an apprentice, from being told it was impossible for a foreigner to do so, and then spending eight months pursuing Master Katsura Bunshi VI for the opportunity. He persevered, spending three years shadowing his Master, performing menial tasks in exchange for the opportunity to “steal the art” by watching and imitating. Sunshine made his Rakugo debut in 2009, and continues to perform his own translations of both classical Rakugo comic stories, as well of the stories of his Master, Katsura Bunshi VI.

TICKET INFORMATION:

Tickets to Katsura Sunshine’s Winter Garden Theatre appearance on Saturday, October 5, 2013, are available at Ticketmaster.ca or call 1-855-622-ARTS (2787). The Winter Garden Theatre box office is open Tuesday – Saturday 11am-5pm.