It was a great treat to see a shortened version of ‘Taming of The Shrew’ at the Korean Cultural Centre recently, performed in English by EDP, student drama club of Soon Chun Hyang University.
Even if the academic talks that preceded it were not quite as lively, one valuable outcome of attending the seminar was finding out about the Asian Shakespeare Intercultural Archive. This fantastic resource has 50 full length Korean Shakespeare theatre productions to view, most with English subtitles. Registration and non-commercial use is free.
I really admired their gusto and sense of fun, and having Korean music and dancing, sumptuous hanboks and girls in sparkly tops and hotpants ticked pretty much all the boxes I require for a rich cultural experience.
Shrew is a nasty little tale, but I think it can only be played for laughs. Trying to turn it into something worthy, as the current Globe production does by setting it in the Irish Easter Rising of 1916, makes it less enjoyable and no less troubling, so I really enjoyed this batty knockabout performance.
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All photos by Jong Ja Gianetti