David Willmore

THEA 481

Feb 22, 2015

The Damask Drum

This is a contemporary adaptation of the classic N piece by the same name, written in

the 15th century by Zeami Motokyo. In the retelling, an old janitor (rather than a gardener)

falls in love with a high-society woman (rather than a princess), who gives him a drum. She

tells him that if he can beat the drum over the noise over the traffic between their two

buildings, she will visit him socially. When he is unable to produce noise with the drum due to

its twill (damask) construction, he kills himself. His ghost possesses the woman and fills her

with despair over her actions. This 1955 version was written by Mishima Yukio, a prolific N

playwright.

Now, 60 years after the updated Damask Drum was first produced, the story rings

especially true. With an increasing number of tales of internet trickery or catfishing, it is very

easy to see how this piece is still quite relevant in a society vastly different from the one it was

first performed in. In a change from the original text, the mans beating of the drum is no

longer on a whim, but instead a carefully orchestrated cruel joke. If anything, this change

more accurately fits contemporary culture and a seemingly escalated nature of conflicts and

antagonism.

This piece is fairly typical of contemporary N theatre; an adaptation of a traditional

N drama with a modern environment and more relatable characters. This has been a trend

since the early-to-mid-1900s when propaganda-laden adaptations filled theatres. These

contemporary adaptations are in no way unique to N or Japanese theatre in general. A

parallel can certainly be drawn to contemporary Western drama, which has a certain love for

retellings and modernizations of classic works, such as those by Shakespeare. Much like some

productions of Shakespeares works, there are complete changes of character names,

settings, and dialogue; The Lion King is an excellent example of this.