Like Shakespearean plays, Kabuki is the drama of the common man. Traditionally these dramas can last an entire day, with the all male cast playing as many as 150 different characters in a lavish spectacle with sumptuous costumes and dozens of scene changes. The audience can come and go, eating their lunch, calling out loudly to their favourite actors in a highly informal entertainment. The Toshiba Philharmonic Orchestra is a unique orchestra whose members are all employees at Toshiba's Head Office in Tokyo, and as part of a world tour of the cities of other Toshiba branches they play an all Beethoven programme at the Barbican on May 10. Another musical feature of Japan 2001 at the Barbican is Urban Beats.
Urbanisation creates the conditions for music to thrive, cultures to mix and hybrids to flower.
No city demonstrates this more vividly than Tokyo, the ultimate culture blender. Alongside events dedicated to the music of Dakar, New York, London and Caracas, Urban Beats will represent the essence of Tokyo's music scene with performances by bands that reflect a city with a myriad of musical styles. Yukio Ninagawa is widely acknowledged as being one of the world's greatest directors. Other productions seen in the UK include Macbeth, Medea and The Tempest. Playwright and novelist Mishima was famed for both his writing and his ritualised death by Hara-Kiri.