April 1952, at the height of the Korean War. A small military transport ship carrying both South Korean soldiers and North Korean prisoners is struck by a storm and wrecked near an Island. Six survivors—divided by ideology yet bound by circumstance—wash up on a deserted island. Among them are Captain Yeong-beom, a weary officer haunted … [Read More]
Category: Musicals
Review: Swag Age in Concert — A Fusion of Tradition, Rebellion, and Rhythm
Regular followers of my reviews will know that I’m not, in general, a big fan of musicals, Korean or otherwise, having too often experienced and evening of prosaic lyrics shoehorned between the barlines of unmemorable melodies. In addition, I often find with Korean musicals that there is too much plot to fit into the allotted … [Read More]
Interview: Swag Age — Korean tradition in a contemporary musical comes to the West End
Guest contributor Timothy Holm meets the creatives behind the Joseon-era musical Swag Age, and gets to the bottom of the meaning of the catchy Oh-Eh-Oh! chorus. [Read More]
The Musical Swag Age in Concert: Q&A Session with highlights screening
To celebrate the West End premiere of the triple award-winning musical Swag Age: Shout Out, Joseon!, a special talk event with the creative team, along with highlight screenings, will be held at the Korean Cultural Centre. Participants: Kyung-Soo Lee: Director Jung-Yeon Lee: Composer & Music Director Christopher Conder: Moderator Set in a fictional Joseon where … [Read More]
Swag Age – the Joseon-era musical – comes to London
A musical storm is about to hit the West End, unlike anything audiences have seen before. The explosive, award-winning Korean phenomenon Swag Age in Concert is making its UK debut in London for one night only blending history, hip-hop and rebellion into a thunderous anthem of freedom. Step into an imagined Joseon Dynasty where the poetry of … [Read More]
Korean performers at the 2025 Edinburgh Festival and Fringe
The Edinburgh International Festival has announced its programme for 2025, and the Fringe website is up and running with their acts. Below are the performers with Korean connections that we’ve managed to identify so far. We’ll update this post if we discover more productions – it’s likely that this is not a complete list. 1. … [Read More]
Theatre round-up: four recent Korean stage productions
This year in London we have been fortunate so far to have enjoyed four Korean stage productions: two imports with a run of several weeks each, and two shoestring-budget local productions with a handful of performances. Which would we go to see again? Do the plucky locals win out over the imports? [Read More]
Woori Han’s Housemates musical, at the Camden Fringe
Join us for “Housemates,” a comedic gem by Korean playwright Woori Han and Korean composer Su Kim. Set in picturesque ‘Debden,’ this musical invites you on a rollicking journey with two unlikely companions – a Korean and an American – as they navigate shared living and attempt a memorable graduation party. Cultural clashes provide a … [Read More]
Marie Curie: original cast screening + Q&A
To celebrate the West End launch of the award-winning musical ‘Marie Curie‘, the Korean Cultural Centre will offer an opportunity to enjoy a full-length film of the musical with the original Korean cast. The performance being screened was recorded live and features Joo-hyun Ok and So-hyang Kim who both portrayed Marie Curie during the 2020 … [Read More]
Musical: Marie Curie
Marie Curie. Physicist. Pioneer. Parent. Marie Curie is certain that she can make a name for herself and change the course of science in the progress as she arrives from her native Poland to study at Sorbonne University in Paris. When she discovers Radium, a new chemical element, she’s lauded with the Nobel Prize but … [Read More]
April House Concert: The Musical in Concert
Suhyun Christine Kim, Soprano Petur Ernir Svavarsson, Tenor Ian Murray Sutherland Musical Director Whitman Ensemble: Miles Ames Violin, Inis Oirr Asano Viola, George Wikes Cello, James Trowbridge Double Bass Programme All I ask of you & Think of me from Phantom of The Opera, Andrew Lloyd Webber (Soprano, Piano, Ensemble) “Christmas Lullaby” from Song For … [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]
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]
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]
Korean performers at the 2021 Edinburgh Fringe Online
The Fringe website isn’t so searchable this year but so far I’ve managed to find three Korean groups performing – all available to be watched on demand. For me the highlight will be the return of dancer Sun-hoo Yoo with her production After4. We found the performance in 2017 one of the best things we’ve … [Read More]
Korean performances at Edinburgh Fringe 2019
A quick wordsearch of the 2019 Fringe catalogue provides the following items of Korean interest at the Fringe this year. LKL’s reviews of eight of the shows can be found here. The Happy Prince Children’s Shows (theatre, puppetry) Venue 21 | C venues – C aquila – temple 13:15 | Aug 1-11, 13-18, 20-26 | … [Read More]