is a traditional Japanese

rakugo is a form of Japanese verbal comedy, traditionally performed in '' yose'' theatres. (Bibliographyvolume 38(1)article
T ...

comic storyteller, theatre producer, and playwright. He is Canadian of Slovenian descent, and currently resides in Tokyo, Japan. He travels monthly to New York to perform rakugo at

New World Stages New World Stages is a five-theater, Off-Broadway performing arts complex in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is between 49th and 50th Streets beneath the plaza of the Worldwide Plaza complex at Eighth Avenue. ...

in New York, and performs regularly around the world.

Biography

Sunshine was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to parents of Slovenian origin, and holds dual citizenship both Canadian and Slovenian. He studied classics at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, where he got his first introduction to the works of the ancient Greek comic playwright, Aristophanes. He became involved in translating, adapting, and performing in versions of Aristophanes' comedies for the Department of Classics. In September 1995, his version of Aristophanes' ''

The Clouds ''The Clouds'' (, ''Nephelai'') is a Greek comedy play written by the playwright Aristophanes. A lampooning of intellectual fashions in classical Athens, it was originally produced at the City Dionysia in 423BC and was not as well received as th ...

'' opened at the Poor Alex Theatre in Toronto, and, buoyed by positive reviews, ran for 15 months before embarking on a tour of Central and Eastern Canada. Other works of theatre produced include the musicals ''Lysistrata'', ''Assemblywomen'', ''The Tokyo Affair'', as well as two operas for children, ''Allegra's Magic Flute,'' and ''Orphea and the Golden Harp.''

Rakugo

On September 1, 2008, Sunshine was accepted as an apprentice to the rakugo storytelling master,

Katsura Bunshi VI , known by his stage name , is a Japanese TV presenter and rakugo artist. His former stage name was . Sanshi received this name from his ''shishô'' (master) and one of the celebrated postwar Kamigata Rakugo greats, . Sanshi's "san" came from ...

(then named Katsura Sanshi), from whom he received the name Katsura Sunshine. In the rakugo tradition, he received both his master's last name and part of the first (his master, Sanshi combined the first part of his name, "San", meaning "three", with the Japanese word for "Shine", and gave it the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "Sunshine"). Sunshine received his professional debut in Singapore on April 26, 2009, and completed his three-year rakugo apprenticeship in November 2011. Sunshine has also performed in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Slovenia, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Gabon, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Australia, as well as throughout Japan. He currently resides in New York City. In July 2012, he opened his own rakugo theatre in his home in Ise, called the Ise Kawasaki Kikitei, where for two years he regularly performed rakugo stories. Sunshine received his London West End debut for a three-week run at the Leicester Square Theatre in October 2017, and subsequently his New York off-Broadway debut for a similar three-week run at the SoHo Playhouse in November 2017.

Notes

External links

Katsura Sunshine's website
rakugo.lol
Interview
Canadian has English-language rakugo dream
Interviews in Japanese

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20150712205317/http://www.e-nikka.ca/Contents/120000/interview_14.php https://web.archive.org/web/20150712205317/http://www.e-nikka.ca/Contents/120000/interview_14.php× {{DEFAULTSORT:Katsura, Sunshine Rakugoka 1970 births Canadian people of Slovenian descent Canadian expatriates in Japan Entertainers from Toronto Living people Canadian storytellers