As usual, the Edinburgh Fringe will host a range of Korean performers this year with something to suit all tastes and ages.
Kkachidong theatre company, who two years ago introduced me to the legend of Grandmother Mago, returns to tackle something more grounded in history: the life story of dancer Choi Seung-hee. Norian Maro from Jeju-do pays another visit to celebrate a legend of one of the outlying islands. Looks a little similar to their performance last year, which we quite enjoyed.
Brush sounds rather like last year’s Kkumdongi Puppet Theater — Climb a Willow to the Sea God’s Palace, which was enchanting.
While most of the productions last a couple of weeks, there’s one, A Walk in the Dust, which is for one day only. So if you want to catch it, you need to be in Edinburgh on 15 August.
If I manage to get to Edinburgh this year, I’ll be prioritising A Drinker and Like Fireworks, Like Butterflies. Time to start planning.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2014
Dates: 1 -25 August 2014
Box Office: www.edfringe.comBrush
Category Children’s Shows
Genres: Family, Physical theatre
Group: Haddangse
Venue: C venues – C
Event Website: www.coreyah.kr
Date: 30 July – 24 August. Book tickets
Time: 12:00
Duration: 55 minutesPaintings are created on stage and brought to life before your eyes. A bewitching story filled with weird and wonderful characters. Mysterious oriental curves and colourful westernised drawings are dancing on the wallpaper! Movement, puppetry, and heartfelt accordion melodies entwine in this delightfully inventive family-friendly show direct from Korea. Haddangse create handmade, eco-friendly theatre across the world, and Brush has been performed at theatres in Korea, Japan, France and Belgium.
Leodo: Paradise Lost
Category: Musicals and Opera
Genres: Music, Dance
Group: Norian Maro
Venue: C venues – C
Event Website: www.norianmaro.com/producti…
Date: 30 July – 24 August. Book tickets
Time: 15:35
Duration: 1 hourMesmerising Korean performance featuring traditional and contemporary drumming, singing, dancing and movement. Energetic multi-talented performers create an enthralling atmosphere and conjure Leodo, a fantasy island and artistic nirvana, treasured by the people in the Jeju-do province. Beautiful costumes, heartfelt movements and enchanting music transfer audiences to the past, delivering the wisdom, arts and joy of Jeju. Join us with this joyful celebration of life. From the creators of Pudasi, featured in TheCultureTrip.com’s Ten Unmissable Shows, Edinburgh Fringe 2013. In contrast to John Milton, the ‘Lost’ in Leodo represents the passage to a paradise.
Perfection
Category: Theatre
Genres: Solo show, Drama
Group: Hungry People Theatre
Venue: C venues – C nova
Event Website: www.junghankim.com
Date: 30 July – 25 August. Book tickets
Time: 17:10
Duration: 50 minutesThis theatrical one-man show is about a man attempting to define his life after being told he only has six months to live. He questions his belief, love, pride, and hardship. We as people are so caught up in our own lives, that we sometimes forget how precious our lives are until it is too late. Why are we here? What does our life mean? If there is a God, what is his purpose for us?
A Drinker
Category: Theatre
Genres: Comedy, Solo show
Group: Dan Hong
Venue: C venues – C nova
Event Website: www.facebook.com/drinkerjin…
4-8 August. Time: 17:05. Book tickets
and
10-16 August. Time: 12:10. Book tickets
Duration: 1 hour 10 minutesThe life of Myung-su is colourful in many ways. He has a lifelong relationship with the bottle. Just as his life was looking bright, his business goes bankrupt and he is left with nothing but debt. Believing that all hope is lost, he drinks his money away but finds hope again when he starts a small roadside pub. In the wake of this, he comes into contact with Mong-ja, the woman he has loved his entire life, and his hope for a better life becomes a reality.
A Walk in the Dust
Category: Theatre
Group: Cicadas
Venue: Sweet Grassmarket
Event Website: cafe.naver.com/cicadasward
Date: 15 August. Book tickets
Time: 16:40
Duration: 50 minutesThis unique piece of Korean theatre centres on the story of young Gretchen. Just seven years old during the Japanese occupation of the state of Joseon she is caught up in a demonstration in her town for its liberation. Killed by a Japanese gunshot, the spirit of Gretchen begs with God to let her live again and she is given that chance.
Like Fireworks, Like Butterflies
Category: Theatre
Genres: Drama
Group: Kkachidong Theatre Company
Venue: theSpace on North Bridge
Event Website: Kkachidong.com
Date: 4-16 August. Book tickets
Time: 16:00
Duration: 50 minutesA girl who went abroad alone to learn how to dance at the age of 16 in the 1920s, Choi Seunghee is Korea’s legendary dancer, one of modern Korea’s original cultural icons. She pioneered the development of modern dance in Korea and remains a legend in Korea after more than 100 years after her birth. This play is about her beautiful and passionate challenge for the fierce life and dance.
LKL comment: read the rather sad story of Choi Cheung-hee’s story on Wikipedia. She made the mistake of choosing North Korea as her home, and like other talented artists got purged. She died in 1969.
Summer Scent of Edinburgh
Category: Music
Genres: Classical
Group: Ensemble Lotus
Venue: Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride’s
Event Website: www.voix.co.kr
Date: 12 August. Book tickets
Time: 19:00
Duration: 1 hourEnsemble Lotus is scheduled to appear in the beautiful city of Edinburgh, performing pieces from a variety of genres and generations, including not only modern pieces in the intense neoclassical style of composer Jean Francaix but also film scores, such as that of the world-famous The Sound of Music and jazz renditions of famous classical pieces. Ensemble Lotus will also present its first time performance of Arirang, a famous traditional Korean folk song arranged especially for the Edinburgh International Festival to introduce Korean music to a global audience. One show only – not to be missed!
Taekwon Percussion Performance: BIGABI
Category: Dance, Physical Theatre and Circus
Genres: Performance art
Group: Taekwon Nanta
Venue: Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride’s
Event Website: www.facebook.com/cacbigabi
Date: 8-17 August. Book tickets
Time: 14:45
Duration: 1 hourLook for BIGABI, the finest Taekwondo players! These players will combine the beauty and spirit of traditional Korean percussion instruments with the power of Taekwon movements. The most advanced Taekwondo students from Jung Moo Kwan enter in to the battle to be selected as the members of BIGABI, the best of the best. Taekwondo is a synthesis of both Korean and foreign martial arts. Today over 70 million people around the world practice it as an art form and as a sport. Taekwondo is included in the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and World University Games.
(automatically generated) Read LKL’s review of this event here.