Japanese Noh Theatre Comes to Kings Place This November
This November, Kings Place hosts Noh Reimagined 2025, a two-day festival bringing Japanese Noh theatre to London. Across 28–29 November, audiences can experience classical masterpieces, a world premiere, and unique cross-cultural collaborations.
The programme includes Bashō, a tale of plantain trees and enlightenment, with a playful English interlude, and Matsukaze, a story of ghostly love and seaside solitude, featuring a workshop led by shite actor Haruhiko Hasegawa.
The world premiere of Song of Rona Island pairs Scottish artists with Noh performers to capture the stark beauty of the Outer Hebrides through music, spoken word, and movement — a striking fusion of two traditions.
All performances include a pre-show talk, offering a glimpse into Noh’s centuries-old artistry. Directed by Japanese arts producer Akiko Yanagisawa, Noh Reimagined promises an unusual, elegant theatre experience unlike anything else in London this autumn.
Tickets and programme details at Kings Place.
NOH REIMAGINED PROGRAMME
Fri 28 Nov | St. Pancras Room 6pm
Pre-Performance Talk
Bashō: The Botanical Mind
Gina Buenfeld-Murley, curator of the exhibition The Botanical Mind at Camden Art Centre, joins Dr Christopher Harding, arts historian, to discuss the noh play Bashō (Plantain Tree) by Konparu Zenchiku (1405–1470), ahead of its historic first-ever performance outside Japan.
£7.50; Free when booked with accompanying event
Fri 28 Nov | Hall One 7.30pm
Bashō (Plantain Tree)
In the autumn wind, the plantain fades—Whispering the impermanence of all things
Bashō (Plantain Tree) by Konparu Zenchiku (1405–1470), is a mesmerising tale in which the spirit of a banana plant, appearing as a middle-aged woman, embodies the Lotus Sutra’s teaching that plants too, can attain enlightenment, reflecting a vision of the harmony and equality of humans and the natural world. Bashō, is performed for the first time outside Japan in history.
£20 – £52
Sat 29 Nov | St. Pancras Room 4pm
Discover the World of Matsukaze
Step into the world of the timeless masterpiece Matsukaze. In this workshop, participants will gain a deeper appreciation of why Matsukaze is one of noh’s most beloved works. Guided by Haruhiko Hasegawa (shite actor of Kanze School) and moderated/interpreted by Ikuko Inoguchi (pianist and music scholar), audiences are invited to experience the utai chanting from the highlight of Matsukaze.
£17.50
Sat 29 Nov | St. Pancras Room 6pm
Pre-Performance Talk
Song of Rona Island
An opportunity to hear from Kathleen Jamie (poet and former Scottish Makar) about her essay ‘On Rona’, and how this essay inspired the creation of the Scottish-Noh theatre production ‘Song of Rona Island’ from Kanji Shimizu (Noh shite actor), Aidan O’Rourke (fiddler) and Brighde Chaimbeul.
£7.50; Free when booked with accompanying event
Sat 29 Nov | Hall One 7.30pm
Matsukaze & Song of Rona Island
A Classical Masterpiece & the World Premiere of a New Work
Matsukaze by Zeami Motokiyo (1363– c. 1443) is one of the most revered masterpieces of classical noh, and a work that Zeami himself held in special regard. Its haunting themes of ghostly love, memory, and seaside solitude that have inspired artists for centuries, echoing in opera, poetry, and painting in Japan and beyond.
Song of Rona Island, inspired by On Rona by Kathleen Jamie, follows a traveller on an ecological survey to an abandoned island in the Outer Hebrides, and their encounter its haunting past. Six noh performers – led by Kanji Shimizu – join forces with fiddler Aidan O’Rourke and Scottish smallpipes player Brìghde Chaimbeul.
£20 – £52
Elena Leo is the Arts & Lifestyle Editor of Ikon London Magazine.
