"‘Katsura Sunshine’s Rakugo’ Offers Stand-Up Comedy Without the Standing: Mr. Sunshine is one of the rare Westerners to become a master of the centuries-old Japanese comic storytelling form."
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"It's almost impossible to dislike Katsura Sunshine, whose presence is immediately disarming… If you question whether the funny would get lost between different cultures, rest assured because here, humor is quite the universal language and laughter never needs translation."
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"I’ve seen rakugo in Japan but never in English, which made it such a delight to visit…Katsura Sunshine’s often hilarious performance…His audience-friendly act…ranges from 15-second jokes to extended narratives, always with an inevitable punchline…Just watching Sunshine’s facial and gestural contortions is worth the price of admission."
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"The stylized telling involves a great deal of repetition, mobile facial expressions, sound effects and much exaggeration—all delightfully intimate and low-keyed...'Rakugo' may be a bit coy and small-scale in its storytelling for Americans, although it is difficult to judge by this one, singularly unconventional tale. It lacks the colorful staging of other Japanese classical theater forms, but has an intimacy and a feeling of improvisation that makes it easy to love."
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“A funny, exciting performance of traditional Japanese stories. Sunshine is a bright and emphatic performer...He is a delightful storyteller...He talks very fast, which makes silent or pantomimed moments more entertaining than you’d expect...If you’re looking for a good way to laugh and forget your troubles, and also learn a few things about Japanese culture, this is the show for you.”
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