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National Changgeuk Company in Trojan Women

I hope I’m not setting my expectations too high, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is near the top of my list of events of the year.

Trojan Women

National Changgeuk Company of Korea | Ong Keng Sen
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Sat 2 June, 7.30pm | Sun 3 June, 5pm | Tickets £22 – £28 | Book here
Duration: 1 hour 50 mins (no interval)

Trojan Women

‘THE WORK TOUCHES THE HEART OF THE AUDIENCE IN AN UNPRECEDENTED AND ORIGINAL WAY’
Korea Economic Daily

Filling the Queen Elizabeth Hall stage with 25 singers, actors and musicians, visionary Singaporean director Ong Keng Sen fuses modern music and pansori, the ancient Korean genre of musical storytelling, in this world-class contemporary opera.

Trojan Women took Seoul by storm when it premiered in 2016 and has since enjoyed a sell-out run at the Singapore International Festival of Arts last year, its London performance is the first time the National Changgeuk Company of Korea, a leading resident company of the National Theatre of Korea, have performed in the UK.

Composed by a producer at the forefront of the K-pop scene, Jung Jae-il, in collaboration with the renowned Pansori master Ahn Sook-sun, Trojan Women brings both the ancient and modern art forms together to breath new life into Euripides’ tragedy.

Troy may be defeated but never forgotten, its women endure as survivors amid the aftermath of a 10-year war with the Greeks. Drawing parallels between the trauma faced by the Trojan women and the pain of Korean women who have lived through war and division, the epic performance celebrates the importance of female solidarity in the face of adversity, through powerful music and movement.

A National Changgeuk Company of Korea performance, co-produced by National Theater of Korea and Singapore International Festival of Arts, presented by LIFT and Southbank Centre.
Supported by Arts Council England and Arts Council Korea.
Image: National Theater of Korea

Creative Team:
Conceived and Directed by Ong Keng Sen
Newly Written for Changgeuk by Bae Sam-sik
Pansori Composed by Ahn Sook-sun
Composed and Music Directed by Jung Jae-il
Choreography by Wen Hui
Set Design by Myung Hee Cho
Lighting Design by Scott Zielinski
Video Design by Austin Switser
Costume and Make-up Design by Kim Moo-hong
Sound Design by Jee Young
Associate Director, Grace Low
Assistant Director and Technical Coordinator, Park Su-ye

Cast:
Hecuba, Queen of Troy: Kim Kum-mi | Cassandra, her daughter: Yi So-yeon | Andromache, wife of Hector, eldest son of Hecuba: Kim Ji-sook | Helen, Queen of Sparta: Kim Jun-soo | Talthybios, Greek soldier: Lee Kwang-bok | Menelaus, King of Sparta: Choi Ho-sung | Chorus: Jung Mi-jung, Heo Ae-sun, Na Yoon-young, Sea Jung-kum, Kim Mi-jin, Lee Youn-joo, Min Eun-kyung, Cho Yu-ah | Wandering Spirit: Yu Tae-pyung-yang

Musicians: Choi Young-hoon, Park Hee-jung, Lee Sung-do, Cho Yong-su, Lee Won-wang, Kim Min-young, Lee Ye-ji, Jun Gye-yeol, Lee Dong-hun, Lee Jeong-ah

(automatically generated) Read LKL’s review of this event here.

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