The Revolution of Suzuki:

In Takahashi Yasunari’s “Suzuki’s Work in the Context of Japanese Theatre” he discusses Suzuki’s . He states how
“Suzuki also drew much of his nourishment from the traditional popular theatre forms of Japan. No other director has learned and stolen so much from Noh and Kabuki, and certainly none has utilized so effectively the popular folk songs (enka) which have entered the mechanism of the psyche of the nonelitist Japanese populist. (Yasunari p 3).

Suzuki honored the traditions of Noh theatre and Kabuki theatre as well as the influences of Western theatre to create a new art form. I believe that this method is truly the basis for innovative theatre. I think theatre that does not acknowledge and borrow from the traditions of the artists and the legacy that artist inherits will not have a lot of resonance. This need to embrace our old customs and traditions and yet move on to the next new thing is a very big battle in America. Creative expression is very much like procreation. The genes of my most ancient ancestors are still in me and will be passed on even to my children. My point is that it is prudent for all artist who wish to be innovative to first examine and embrace the legacy of their artistic traditions.
Yasunari’s also states that Suzuki also subversively undermined the priority of the written text at the top of the theatrical pyramid. Yasunari asserts that Suzuki “triumphantly succeeded in transferring the priority from the text to the actor.” (Yasunari p3) With the power in the actor a revolution has taken place with Suzuki. This revolution embraces the past but also acknowledges that the power for the play is within the hands of the actor.