German contemporary theater has only begun to be introduced in Japan this century, before when the term "Western theater" was generally associated with works by British or American directors that told a story and diligently portrayed the psychological state of the characters.
In comparison, it was shocking to encounter the post-dramatic German style of broadly deconstructed and abbreviated works not dependent on words, but on actual acting and directing that emphasized the visuals.
Although this style is somewhat akin to the shōgekijo (small-scale theater) movement in Japan in the 1960s, it's its clever objectivity and the mature acting it demands that have awakened many Japanese theatergoers to its appeal.
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