The Barbican asked me to plug the upcoming Yohangza Midsummer Night’s Dream on this site, so they sent me some PR stuff and an image. I was happy to oblige, so I started preparing this blog entry. It was going to be a very lazy post - just a cut and paste from their materials. Then two days ago I received an unsolicited email from Colin Bartlett, who had come across this site while googling the London Korean Festival, and filled out my contact form. Colin caught the show at the Edinburgh Festival last year. Here’s what he has to say
In the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year I saw a wonderful (and wonderfully funny) performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In fact, I saw it three times, and it will be on at the Barbican main theatre for a short run from Tuesday 27 June to Saturday 1 July. (I’ll be going again, probably twice.)
- A (possible) problem: it’s almost entirely in Korean.
- Less of a problem: there will be surtitles, and there are about three sentences in English.
- No problem: you don’t need the surtitles anyway.
A quote from a friend who I stay with in Edinburgh, and who - after some gentle (but quite persistent) persuasion from me - came with me to the second time I saw it: “I did to my surprise enjoy Midsummer Night’s Dream very much.”
There weren’t any surtitles in Edinburgh, and as long as people roughly knew the plot (and had read the short programme note before hand to understand the minor changes to the story) the performance was such strong physical theatre that understanding the spoken language was almost irrelevant - you could see and hear the emotion. Neither I nor my friend understand Korean. (But I wish did, because I suspect it would then be an even better experience.)
It’s probably the best production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream I’ve ever seen, and the (mock) fight scene between Hermia and Helena is very very very funny: the production would be worth seeing just for that. The Barbican Centre description is accurate: I was delighted and captivated.
(Disclaimer - I have absolutely no connection of any kind with the production whatsoever, it’s just very very good, and deserves to be successful. It might not need my enthusiasm, as most performances seem to be fairly fully booked. That may be because it looks as though they are only selling stalls seats, so if there is enough demand, maybe they’ll “open” the circle.)
Details provided by the Barbican follow. Check out their website for more fun images.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Yohangza Theatre CompanyDirected by Jung Ung Yang
In association with AsiaNow Productions27th June - 1st July, Barbican Theatre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS / 19.45, 14.00
London premiere following a sell-out run at the Edinburgh International Festival 2005
“Wonderfully wicked, clever and magical. Yang’s directing is inspired, exquisite.” (The Scotsman *****)
“Enchanting for everyone to whom the words “physical theatre” are an immediate turn off. Yohangza’s dynamic dance and graceful poise is an eye-opener, revealing unimagined pleasures in the genre.” (The Big Issue)
“Yohangza make physical theatre an extreme sport in their spectacular retelling of Shakespeare’s comedy.” (Fest)
Fantasy, dreams and magic meet Korean mythical folklore and dynamic theatricality.
It’s a midsummer’s night and the mischievous Dokkebi (Korean goblins), who love dancing and singing, are having a big party.
The tangled tale of four lovers is spun out through a fresh mix of dance, voice, percussion, and performances bursting with mischief and boundless energy. This hilarious, fun-packed 2005 Edinburgh hit will delight and captivated both adults and children alike.
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