Rey Camoy may not be a name widely known outside of Japan. Camoy (1928-1985) was “a little-known peripatetic Japanese painter of the human condition” (Tokyo Art Beat). He painted characters: clowns, crones, drunks, disabled soldiers. He took his own life at the age of 57, having failed to find himself in any of these characters.
Directors Kentaro Suyama and Tania Coke trained in London before moving to Japan fifteen years ago. Their company, tarinainanika, creates a wordless piece of theatre that foregrounds music, movement and mime to present Camoy suroounded by and interacting with his creations.
It is a performance of great beauty. It draws out the best and worst of humanity and is increasingly unsettling, bizarre and more than a bit disturbing. The performers are Kentaro Suyama, Tania Coke, Ryuta Kawai, Yukiko Masui, Teruya Sugimoto, and Masaya Tsujimoto. They bring the curious paintings of this cult artist to life before us, asking us to observe each miniature pantomime.
tarinainanika are practioners of a style of performance called ‘Corporeal Mime’. Co-director Tania Coke described it in an interview for Exeter Northcott Theatre as “a theatrical art based on the body, with its own repertoire, vocabulary, teaching methods and creative processes’. It was founded by Etienne Decroux, whose assistants went on to train Coke and Suyama.
Rey Camoy is a collection of fragmentary moments and compositions, often so still it feels as if a painting is being observed. Masks, video, and choreography is utilised to create the images that respect the artist’s vision, while original and arranged music by Coke offers a sense of ethereal peace.
This video capture is clear, sharp, and with its own persuasive power. Using multiple cameras, the effect of moving around the space and literally following the action is strong. It is almost a 360 degree experience but with the camera operators doing the work rather than the audience or device.
There is a determination in the work of tarinainanika to expose the flaws in the human condition as well as the spark of our existence. The lighting and sound design adds to the curious effect of these characters and figures assuming their own look at life. The video work blurs the edges between live performance and film, but it is the emotional power and the choice to sometimes use quiet as a theatrical choice that gives this a special appeal.
In making Camoy’s unusual paintings into three-dimensional vignettes, his work becomes more powerful, accessible, and unique. This production will reward those who seek to explore and understand art while focusing on the fusion between dance, mime, movement and physical theatre.
Rey Camoy was tarinainanika’s third work to appear on the UK stage, following The Same Boat and PeoplePeople. On their company website https://en.tarinainanika.com/ they have information on all the productions plus an opportunity to watch selections from their work for free.
Rey Camoy is available on-demand from C Arts Digital, and is presented in this year’s Edinburgh Fringe.
5 stars. “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” (John Keats).