Time Out New York

The name of this show is the first hint that this dance-theater piece probably won't be a strictly faithful version of Shakespeare's tragedy-and it isn't. The Japanese dance company Kaimaku Pennant Race offers a barely recognizable Bard, refracted through the lenses of Japanese sensibilities and anime culture. Those looking for romantic grandeur will perhaps be disappointed. But others will be rewarded with a fantastic combination of ingenious movement, surreal story lines and dynamic, startlingly disciplined performers. The troupe's rendition of a warrior on horseback, accompanied by his guardsmen, is thrilling; its mob of babies is silly brilliance; and its take on water swirling through a toilet-maybe you thought the title was a bluff?-would make Dali chuckle.- Elizabeth Barr, editorial director.