In a South Korean snack bar, four lost souls take us on a journey through the history of South Korea through the familiar, startling and sacred language of food. Floating aromas of a steamy simmering soup, the sharp sound of a knife quickly slicing spring onions, the hissing and sizzling of mushrooms on a scorching … [Read More]
Category: Theatre
Youngsun Yoon’s Kiss: a minimalist study in the difficulty of communicating
Over the years, Londoners have had a few, but not many, opportunities to see the work of a Korean playwright on stage. The count increases if you include musicals or performances in provincial theatres or at the Edinburgh fringe, where each year you can normally find at least one 50-minute Korean stage production, but if … [Read More]
Kim’s Convenience: a great family night out
On a cold January night, if you’re looking for some warm and cozy entertainment, Kim’s Convenience fits the bill admirably. The Park Theatre’s intimate stage has a homely feel. The scene, needless to say, is a convenience store, provisioned, as it happens, courtesy of New Malden’s Korea Foods. Audience members in the front row of … [Read More]
Youngsun Yoon’s 1997 play, “Kiss”, at the Bread and Roses Theatre
“I’m here. You are there.” From Kiss. ‘Why is it that humans, despite ceaselessly attempting to break free from loneliness, find it so difficult to escape it completely?’ Yoon Young-sun, who was active in creating works while viewing humans as inevitably lonely beings, shouts out in London. Though the countries change, the essence of human … [Read More]
Kim’s Convenience comes to London stage in January 2024
The hilarious and heartwarming award-winning comedy-drama about a family-run Korean store that inspired the Netflix hit, is a feel-good ode to generatiowns of immigrants who have made Canada the country that it is today. Mr. Kim works hard to support his wife and children with his Toronto convenience store. As he evaluates his future, he … [Read More]
Untitled f*ck m*ss s**gon play
Kim is having one of those days. A terrible, very bad, no-good kind of day, and the worst part is…it all feels so familiar. Caught up in a never-ending cycle of events, she looks for the exit but the harder she tries, the worse it gets and she begins to wonder: who’s writing this story? … [Read More]
쿠쿠 | Cuckoo by Jaha Koo
Three talkative rice cookers take you on a journey through the last 20 years of Korean history. Cuckoo is a bittersweet and humorous dialogue, a documentary of sorts. Economist-turned-artist Jaha Koo sits with his electronic friends, three rice cookers. Together they discuss the catastrophic market crash of 1997 and subsequent national phenomena, including unemployment, depression … [Read More]
Korean performers at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe
A very varied selection of acts are coming to the Fringe this year: At That Time, Byeon Genre: Theatre (comedy, dark comedy) Group: Haddangse Venue 209: Greenside @ Nicolson Square – Lime Studio 11:25am , Aug 7-12, 14-19 | Book tickets Duration: 1 hour Japanese colonial era 1931: vertical drop shot of those crawling up … [Read More]
Woman at Point Zero, at the Royal Opera House
A story of two women who share their memories, experiences and secrets. Inspired by the seminal novel by Egyptian writer and feminist Nawal El Saadawi, Woman at Point Zero is a story of two women: Fatma, an activist imprisoned for manslaughter and Sama, an ambitious documentary filmmaker, that unfolds over one day. They share their memories, … [Read More]
Open rehearsal: What Are You Going To Do With Your One And Only Youth?
Based on the true story of Hoe-Young Lee, a Korean independence activist who fought against the Japanese colonial empire in the early 20th century, What Are You Going To Do With Your One And Only Youth is a rehearsed reading of a musical play. Performed by young English artists, British East and South East Asian … [Read More]
The Coronet Theatre’s “Tiger is Coming” festival: don’t miss any of it.
How long have we all been wanting Leenalchi and the Ambiguous Dance Company to come to London? Probably ever since their Naver Onstage performance went viral on social media. The piece they were performing was Tiger is Coming, which turned out to be the opening track of their subsequent album, Sugungga, a retelling of one … [Read More]
Edinburgh 2022: the first weekend of Korean performances
LKL has a packed agenda at the first weekend of the Edinburgh International Festival and Fringe. Edinburgh performers have to put up with all forms of distractions in pursuit of their art. At Dance Base, the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company, whose performance opened in quietness to the sounds of Lee Ilwoo’s solo piri, had … [Read More]
Homeland – A new play by HeeJin Kim
“I just want to start a new life in this country. I worked so hard you know, to f*cking survive.” Theatre Company Knee presents the world premiere of Homeland, a comedy-drama that explores the idea of home from the perspective of recent migrants to the UK. Written by award-winning Korean Playwright HeeJin Kim and featuring … [Read More]
Tiger is Coming: Dolpagu
South Korea’s award-winning theatre company Dolpagu presents the UK Premiere of XXL Leotard and Anna Sui Hand Mirror, a groundbreaking theatre production exploring gender and social class across generations. Junho must keep his secret – he likes to wear women’s leotards. Wearing them stops him stressing about his upcoming college entrance exam. Hee-joo finds out his secret and posts a photo … [Read More]
The Apology
Arcola reunites with New Earth for this powerful human story which asks how a nation can apologise for the crimes of its past. “My feelings? They’re not hurt. My feelings are incensed…” Seoul, 1991. Priyanka is beginning the UN investigation into the ‘comfort women’ of the Second World War, and the subsequent political cover-up. Yuna … [Read More]
Korean performers at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Fringe is back, and this year there are nine Korean acts performing. Exciting dance performances, world music, theatre and pansori puppetry: something for everyone. Find all the details here, with booking links to the official Fringe website. Plan your Korean August in Edinburgh here! [Read More]