Theater Review. Shobe.

This evening I watched a stage production of the Japanese fable Shobe, performed in Japanese. The performance was absolutely incredible. The acting was top notch, the Taiko drumming interlude was well done as were the vocal performances.

Shobe is the story of a young working man. He labors hard but is getting nowhere. He asks the spirits to grant him a good life. A spirit grants his request by telling him he will stumble on the road and he must pick up what he finds and carry it. Shobe does indeed stumble and finds a rice straw. Even though he thinks it is worthless he keeps it. Along the way a dragonfly begins buzzing around his head. He catches the dragonfly and ties it to his rice straw. Soon he encounters a woman and child, the child wants the dragonfly which Shobe gives her, the mother rewards him with a basket of oranges. He is pleased with the oranges and is about to eat them when he comes across a procession. Three maids approach him asking if he had some water for their princess who was dying of thirst. He had none but he gave them the basket of oranges which saved the princess. The princess thanks him and has her maids reward him with a bolt of fine silk. Further down the road Shobe is accosted by three Samurai who think the silk is too good for him. They threaten him and force him to trade the silk for a dying horse that they had with them. Shobe nurses the horse back to health and travels on. Soon he comes upon an old royal woman, who says she is traveling to her home but must travel quickly. Shobe offers her his horse. The woman accepts and asks Shobe to come to her house for a reward. Later when shobe comes to the womens fine home he is introduced to the womans daughter the princess. The princess tells her mother that Shobe is the man who saved her from thirst. The woman asks Shobe to marry the princess and become master of her estate. Shobe does and lives happily ever after.

A very nice story and very well performed by my daughters third grade class. My daughter was the princess.