Buried TeaBowl- OKUNI: Ready for Tour!
“...the traditional Japanese tea ceremony a 21st century feminist spin. ... a Proustian, unruly one woman show, a work of pleasure and bite.”
“…so strange and grotesque, it almost defies description”
“dense and visceral at the same time.”
INSTALLATION - PERFORMANCE - TEA
ABOUT
Buried TeaBowl -OKUNI is an intimate and epic solo performance installation bringing together dance, text, song and tea ceremony with stunning film captured in 2021 during the lockdown.The work is inspired by the Japanese historical female dancer and shrine made Okuni, who initiated Kabuki theatre in the early 1600s, which women were banned from performing after these times.
At the height of her powers, Yumi Umiumare, Melbourne performance legend and Australia’s leading Butoh artist, unearths precious sacred female power which has been buried throughout history.Yumi channels the multifaceted character of Okuni who was so powerful, yet fragile and complex, to reawaken her spirit through excavating these buried stories and myths.
CREATIVE TEAM
Created and Performed : Yumi Umiumare
Cinematographer/ Editor : Takeshi Kondo
Composer/ Sound Designer : Dan West
Lighting designer: Emma Lockhart-Wilson
Dramaturg/ Maude Davey
Provocateur : Moira Finucane
Producer : Kath Papas productions
Photographer: Vikk Shayen
Graphic design : Mariko Naito & Taka Takiguchi
Calligraphy: Hisako Tsuchiya
Publicity : Diana Wolfe
PHOTO CREDITS
Vikk Shayen (Above)
Takeshi Kondo (Below)
The show was premiered at the BlackCat Gallery in May 2022.
SUPPORT & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS for the premiere season
The premiere season was supported by the Besen Family Foundation and BLACKCAT Gallery.
