Have All-Abroad the travelogue delivered FREE to your mailbox every fortnight. The narratives related in Kabuki are of major events in history or tales of simple folk in the 17th and 18th centuries retold using music and dance, which make them ideal for non-Japanese speakers. Kabuki is theatre for the common man unlike its more contrived sibling 'Noh' which, in the 17th century was the reserve of the upper classes only.
Kabuki performances are loud, vibrant and career along at breakneck speed.
The actor's costumes, wild and wonderful wigs and make-up alone are worth the price of admission. In Kabuki female characters are always played by men and the ones who specialise in portraying women are known as 'onnagata' . Kabuki-za Theatre which dates from 1889. Tickets range from 2,520 to 16,800. For a small fee the theatre can supply an English-language tape which explains the plot and introduces the actors.