NANTA

Last Wednesday I went to see a play that was an interesting take on the "Stomp" phenomenon. NANTA, which nobody can provide me with a translation of, is presented as an evening in a restaurant as the chefs attempt to prepare for a party. The owner's nephew shows up, wants to be a chef and is given the opportunity. Hilarity ensues. There are only a handful of spoken lines in the play, which makes the performance popular among the tourist crowd, mostly Chinese and Japanese. The "lines" are mostly in English and never constitute a complete sentence. They're more along the line of "Six o'clock!" "Onion" and "Nephew." The performance is tailored to be understood through facial expressions and actions, and the story isn't really all that complex.

The catch is that all the actions are choreographed and set to the rhythm of the kitchen. They chop vegetables in unison, they toss plates across stage, they beat sinks and trashcans with spoons and mop handles. At one point they actually start stir frying on stage and the smell of the sautéing vegetables wafts out into the audience, adding another dimension to the performance.

All in all a very enjoyable experience. Nothing to mentally taxing, but Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton's films weren't mentally taxing and they're considered geniuses today