Japanese Noh Theater Elements Infuse New Stage Adaptation of Bagriany's 'Tiger Hunters'

About the Play 'Tiger Hunters'

According to РБК-Україна — Lite: Premiering on June 27 and 28, with a 16+ age rating, the stage adaptation of Ivan Bagriany's novel 'Tiger Hunters' marks a unique theatrical event. First published in 1944, the story follows engineer and aviator Hryhorii Mnohohrishnyi as he escapes a Soviet death train and builds a new life in the Ukrainian settlement of Zelenyi Klyn, located in the Russian Far East. Director Pavlo Shpehun, who also wrote the stage adaptation, blends Ukrainian and Japanese theatrical traditions to create a distinctive performance.

Production Highlights

In this new production, Mnohohrishnyi's journey is framed as an ancient legend. A newly introduced character, wearing a mask from Japanese Noh theater known as onryō, serves as the narrator. In Japanese tradition, an onryō is the spirit of a woman so bound by earthly emotions that she cannot leave the world of the living.

In Japanese tradition, the onryō is the spirit of a woman held so tightly by earthly feelings that she cannot fully depart the world of the living. In our play, this figure is not the central character of the plot. But she is important, and she will guide the audience through the story to show the connection between past and present. - Pavlo Shpehun

A key feature of the performance is the use of a chorus, traditional to Noh theater, which remains on stage throughout. Gunshots and collisions will be conveyed through music, reflecting Shpehun's desire to avoid conventional sound effects:

For example, there will be no clatter of weapons. We know that sound well enough. Gunshots, collisions – they will be transmitted through music. We will work the same way with familiar everyday sounds, discovering their new resonance. - Pavlo Shpehun

Another vital component is the handcrafted masks, which blend the aesthetics of Japanese theater with the Ukrainian vertep (traditional puppet theater). The cast includes:

• Bohdan Builuk
• Khrystia Liuba
• Artem Plonder
• Yan Korniev
• Yevheniia Kosenko
• Nataliia Nalimova
• Dunia Rybalchenko
• Daniela Rybalchenko
• Ioanna Derevianchuk
• Artem Zhyvayev
• Varvara Safronova
• Mariana Solodovnik

Set designer Raia Idrisova and costume designer Zhenia Slobodianyk also contributed to the production, with Daria Lysenko serving as assistant director.

Shpehun emphasized that the novel 'Tiger Hunters' teaches sincerity and the ability to love even in difficult circumstances: 'I often ask myself: how to live now. Rereading Tiger Hunters today, I notice how sincerely Hryhorii Mnohohrishnyi responds to life's challenges: he enters a new family, falls in love easily, makes plans.'

This play invites the audience to reflect on the inheritance of strength and hope, on the generations that came before us, and for whom we are the continuation.

The production 'Tiger Hunters' stands as an important cultural phenomenon, bridging Ukrainian literary heritage with elements of Japanese theater, thereby fostering a broader cultural dialogue between different traditions. It also underscores the enduring relevance of themes explored in the novel-identity, resilience, and love in trying times-which remain vital for contemporary society.