Theatre

Fringe review: Kokdu – The Soul Mate

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by Philip Gowman on 30 August, 2017

in Edinburgh Festival & Fringe, Event reports and reviews, Theatre

Intended to be a simple morality tale about respect for the dead and dying, as well as an exposition of Korean folk and shamanistic beliefs about burial customs and the afterlife, this ambitious production combines strong visuals and colourful costumes with storytelling that is an uncomfortable mixture of seriousness and slapstick. Sometimes it’s good to […]

Tagged as: Edinburgh 2017

One Day, Maybe: Hull City of Culture work inspired by Gwangju

by Events Editor 20 August 2017

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An intriguing project as part of Hull’s year as UK City of Culture. “Deep within a hidden office complex in Hull city centre, a mysterious new Korean technology company is about to change the way we view the world.” One Day, Maybe Created by dreamthinkspeak | Commissioned by Hull UK City of Culture 2017 Friday […]

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Think Korea 2006 – an introduction

by Philip Gowman 17 August 2017

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Think Korea 2006 was an ambitious programme of cultural and other events organised by the Korean Embassy as part of the “Korea-UK Mutual Visit Year”. There was, I believe, a reciprocal series of UK-related events organised in Korea, but I never saw any publicity about it. One event I do know of: the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra […]

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Korean performers at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe

by Events Editor 16 June 2017

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A detailed mining of the Edinburgh Fringe website reveals twenty Korean performances plus one talk this year. Magic show Snap makes a return, along with the ever-popular drum show Tago, both part of a “Korean Season presented by AtoBiz Ltd” – who also bring new acts Kokdu and Ensemble Su. I must say I’m a […]

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In-sook Chappell’s This Isn’t Romance gets Korean performance

by Events Editor 1 June 2017

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Long-standing followers of Korea-related events in London will remember In-sook Chappell’s play This isn’t Romance. LKL’s review can be found here. Seoullites can now see the play performed in a new Korean language version entitled 이건 로맨스가 아니야 at the National Theatre of Korea, 2 – 18 June 2017. Details here. I think it’s fair to […]

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Korean performers needed for Hull City of Culture Gwangju project

by Philip Gowman 1 April 2017

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dreamthinkspeak, pioneers of site responsive performance, are creating a new production entitled ONE DAY MAYBE as part of the HULL CITY of CULTURE programme of events. The production is scheduled for September this year. ONE DAY, MAYBE is inspired by the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising in South Korea. The project casts an eye on the […]

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Korean theatres celebrate Shakespeare

by Philip Gowman 19 October 2016

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“South Korean theaters have launched a series of reinterpreted Shakespearean plays for the fall-winter season of 2016 to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of the globally revered British poet and playwright.” Full story on Yonhap

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Fringe visit: The Tiniest Frog Prince in the World

by Philip Gowman 24 August 2016

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I was feeling grumpy when I went into this show and had decided I was not going to enjoy it. I had rushed to get there having just got off the train. It had started late, and if it overran I wasn’t going to have time to get to the next show. And I’m not […]

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Fringe visit: Girl

by Philip Gowman 24 August 2016

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Modl Theatre Company is perhaps best known in this country for its work aimed at younger audiences, but it is a diverse company which also engages with more adult material too. And you can’t get much more adult than a graphic description of the surgical procedure that the Japanese forced upon young Korean girls so […]

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Fringe visit: Dandelion’s Story

by Philip Gowman 24 August 2016

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What on earth makes a theatre company think that creating a piece about doggy poo is a good idea? How do you persuade an actress that taking on the role of a talking turd is a big break for her? Well, firstly, this production is aimed at children, and kids of all ages find poo […]

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Fringe visit: Tiger in Blossom

by Philip Gowman 24 August 2016

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This is a simple retelling for children of the Korean folk tale of the Tiger and the Woodcutter, in which a woodcutter, about to be killed by a tiger in the forest, persuades the beast that he used to be human, and is in fact his elder brother. The initially sceptical tiger eventually falls for […]

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Fringe visit: The Song of Beast (after Hamlet)

by Philip Gowman 24 August 2016

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Imagine Hamlet scripted / co-directed by Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy), Ryu Seung-wan (Veteran / Unjust) and Yoon Jong-bin (Nameless Gangster), with dialogue input from Yang Ik-joon (Breathless), and music by Cho Young-wook (Oldboy) and you’re starting to get close what this production is like. The setting is moved from Denmark to an abattoir which has a […]

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Brief review: Taming of the Shrew, at the KCC

by 앤서방 10 August 2016

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It was a great treat to see a shortened version of ‘Taming of The Shrew’ at the Korean Cultural Centre recently, performed in English by EDP, student drama club of Soon Chun Hyang University. Even if the academic talks that preceded it were not quite as lively, one valuable outcome of attending the seminar was […]

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Event news: Korean Shakespeare in Theory and Practice

by Events Editor 31 July 2016

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An interesting workshop focusing on Korean Shakespeare adaptations, of which we have seen a fair number in the UK over the last decade. For those planning a visit to the Edinburgh Fringe, there’s an opportunity to catch one of the performances in London before going up, with EDP’s version of Taming of the Shrew, described […]

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Korean performers and artists at Edinburgh Fringe 2016

by Events Editor 14 June 2016

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Once again there’s a strong Korean showing at the Fringe this year. It’s particularly nice to see Modl Theatre in the UK again, this time with three productions. Two of them are geared towards families and children, but the third is a something darker: a new and topical production on the theme of the wartime […]

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Wanted: Korean actors for upcoming projects

by Philip Gowman 12 May 2016

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Two actors wanted for upcoming projects. Details below. 1. NOBODY by Evan Placey and Ko Sun Duck Mature Korean actor (native speaker) required for RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP Producer: National Theatre Company of Korea (Seoul), Hanyong Theatre (Birmingham) and Judy Owen Ltd Director: Peter Wynne-Willson Designer: Shin Dong Workshop dates: Mon 27 June – Fri […]

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Wanted: actors for short film on North Korean refugee in Britain

by Philip Gowman 24 April 2016

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Having enjoyed In-Sook Chappell’s two stage plays, I’m delighted to hear that she has a short film planned. She is looking for actors, with or without experience or training, to cast. Here’s the brief. Do please volunteer, because I want to see this film! KOCHEBI: A short film written and directed by In-Sook Chappell. It’s […]

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