For those who, like me, find musicals a bit of a chore, here’s a 13-minute parody of one of my least favourites. It almost makes me want to try the real thing all over again. Almost, but not quite. Well done the ROK Air Force’s 22nd Fighter Wing. Les Miserables ROKAF (Republic of Korea Air … [Read More]
Category: Musicals (page 3)
Gumok: a simple, powerful portrayal of the story of a young Comfort Woman
In general, my heart sinks when I have to go to a musical. I’ve rarely come across a piece of music theatre from the last 50 years where the quality of the music and lyrics has lived up to the ambition of the production as a whole. The two big Korean musicals that have shown … [Read More]
Gumok, a new musical at the Chelsea Theatre
News of an interesting new musical getting an outing for one day only later this month in Chelsea, featuring the stories of the Korean Comfort Women: Gumok Date: 30th June, 2012 Place: Chelsea Theatre (SW10 0DR) Time: 5pm and 8pm Price: Pay what you like (min. £1) Project Team Gumok presents a new musical “Gumok” … [Read More]
From Local Monsters to BEAST: 1500 years of Korean music and dance at SOAS
Last weekend’s free seminar at SOAS ranged from Silla dynasty lion dances to last month’s tour of Taiwan by BEAST, and from ancient Confucian ceremonial music to Samulnori and hip-hop via Trot. Juhae Gu introduced us to the dying musical form of Akkeuk (악극) – a form of stage musical using Trot music. It is … [Read More]
Yun Ho-jin’s musical Hero, on stage in New York
“Bombastic” is the New York Times’s view of Yun Ho-jin’s musical Hero http://t.co/2tsHSdf – Exactly what I thought of his previous one, The Last Empress, when it showed in London in 2002 # [Read More]
Korean performers at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe
Korean performers are continuing their tradition of bringing entertaining shows to the Edinburgh Fringe. Alongside the significant Korean productions as part of the main festival this year, you will find physical theatre, puppetry, traditional and indie music, and much more: Gaksi, Mago http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/theatre/gaksi-mago Category: Theatre Genres: drama Group: Kkachidong Venue: theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall Event … [Read More]
Princess Pyunggang and General Ondal: Korean children bring musical from Seoul
News of an upcoming musical in Kingston and Brighton: Princess Pyunggang and General Ondal From Seoul, this award-winning troupe of multi-talented Korean children and adults present a majestic 21stC remix of an ancient Korean children’s folktale unifying traditional drumming, opera, flag dance and tap to dazzle audiences and inspire endless love and peaceful transformation. Suitable … [Read More]
Jang Jin and performers’ fees
Just for once, at the Q&A with Jang Jin tonight, I DIDN'T ask any question about the screen quota. It was an effort though. #. Instead, I asked him about actors fees, which for a significant portion of a film’s budget. But in the news today, it seems film actors aren't the only performers with … [Read More]
Another Sun: It’s educational, but it’s not for foreigners
I was chatting to my companion during the interval of Another Sun, the big-budget Korean musical, at Sadlers Wells last night. “It’s educational,” she said, “but I don’t think it’s for foreigners.” I pressed her on the educational point. The plot of the musical is said to be based on the Korean foundation myth about … [Read More]
Another Sun: big budget Korean musical comes to Sadlers Wells
News of a major musical at Sadlers Wells later this month. First, the trailer: Next, the press release. The production is free on emailing the address below: Another Sun The face of musical theatre in London is set to change as a Korean theatre company arrives in the London later this month to perform an … [Read More]
Korean performers at the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe
Gone are the days when the Edinburgh Festival Fringe website had a search engine where you could simply type “Korea” and it would return all the events with Korean performers. So here’s a listing developed with hard graft and elbow grease. The Dream of Sancho Performers: Creative VaQi Date: 8th-14th August 2010 Time: 21:50 (1hr) … [Read More]
Thomas the Tank Engine musical tours Korea
Thomas the Tank Engine returns to Korea for a stage musical. Thomas & Friends Live! On Stage: A Circus Comes to Town debuted in Korea in 2007, and this year will tour seven Korean cities: Seoul, Suwon, Gwangju, Jeonju, Seongnam, Daegu and Goyang. Source: Korea Times # [Read More]
Honey Lee crosses over into musicals
Honey Lee on Her Love for the Gayageum – The Chosun Ilbo has a brief feature which mentions her latest outing as the Reese Witherspoon character in Legally Blonde http://bit.ly/4uTbW3 # [Read More]
Review: Oh! Youran – performance at V&A Korean day, 27 May
I’m sorry I didn’t manage to get to all of the performance of Oh! Youran. For me, Saturday afternoon is not the best time for a theatrical performance, but I guess given the generosity of the V&A in hosting this event in their lecture theatre, certain compromises have to be made in terms of logistics. … [Read More]
Life in the concentration camp – in a musical
I was a bit slow in spotting this, but for politically controversial stage shows, Yoduk Story must take some beating – a musical about human rights abuses in one of North Korea’s concentration camps, written, directed and acted by defectors. See article in the Chosun Ilbo. Other Links: Musical brings Korean horrors home, Charles Scanlon, … [Read More]
The Last Empress: spectacular but unsatisfying
The Last Empress is an original Korean musical in the style of a traditional Broadway production, and is based on the life story of Queen Min, the last Empress of the Joseon Dynasty, who was murdered by Japanese assassins in 1895. Undoubtedly patriotic in its theme, it capitalises on the popularity of the musical in … [Read More]