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Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Korean production of 'The Cherry Orchard' sets off on global tour
Jeon Do-yeon, Park Hae-soo reprise their roles; first stops in Hong Kong and Singapore Following its sensational premiere in Seoul, the Korean production of "The Cherry Orchard" will embark on an international tour this fall, beginning with performances in Hong Kong and Singapore. The original Seoul cast, led by Cannes-winning Jeon Do-yeon and Park Hae-soo, will reprise their roles, joined by fellow original cast members Sohn Sang-gyu, Choi Hee-seo, Lee Ji-hye, Nam Yun-ho, Yoo Byung-hun, Park Yu-rim, Lee Sae-jun and Lee Ju-won. The adaptation directed by Simon Stone and produced by LG Arts Center reimagines Anton Chekhov's tragicomedy through the lens of contemporary Korea. During its 2024 debut at LG Arts Center Seoul, the show drew 40,000 theatergoers across 30 performances and achieved a 95 percent seat occupancy rate. The international tour begins Sept. 19-21 at the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Center, where it will open the Asia+ Festival 2025. The festival, organized by Hong Kong's Leisure and Cultural Services Department, highlights the best of traditional and contemporary performing arts across Asia. From Nov. 7-9, the production travels to Singapore's national performing arts center, Esplanade — Theatres on the Bay, for three performances. Stone, known for his deconstruction and reinterpretation of canonical works such as "Medea" and "Ibsen House," breathes new life into "The Cherry Orchard," setting the story of a crumbling aristocracy and a rising middle class in a Korea undergoing rapid transformation. 'This idea of very rapid change — the ways of the past being lost, the fight between tradition and innovation, the battle between generations, and this very melancholy, almost crazy movement between hope and despair that happens sometimes within a single sentence — is very hard to find,' said Stone, speaking to the press last year. To him, setting the play in Korea felt like exactly the right way to hold a mirror to all of this. 'This is a truly global collaboration,' said Lee Hyun-jung, head of LG Arts Center Seoul. 'It brings together one of the world's most visionary directors, some of Korea's finest actors, and an extraordinary team of creatives, including architect Saul Kim and composer Jang Young-gyu. Together, they've transformed a 100-year-old Russian play into a living, urgent Korean story.' Further international invitations are already in the works, including the Adelaide Festival in March 2026 and New York's Park Avenue Armory in September 2026, with additional global stops under discussion.
Korea Herald
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
The Royal Ballet brings its 'best' to Seoul with snapshot of classics, heritage, world premiere
The Royal Ballet of Britain is making its long-awaited return to Korea this weekend at the LG Arts Center with the world-renowned company's first official gala in Seoul since 2005. 'We're delighted to share the Royal Ballet of today with you,' said Kevin O'Hare, artistic director of the company since 2012, during a press conference Wednesday. 'The program is full of excerpts from some of our greatest works that are all linked to our repertoire. It's a snapshot of the Royal Ballet today.' Titled 'The First Gala in Seoul,' the program offers a sweeping glimpse of the company's storied yet ever-evolving repertoire. The gala features excerpts from canonical works like 'Giselle' and 'Don Quixote,' as well as Kenneth MacMillan's emotionally charged 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'Manon.' More contemporary pieces are Christopher Wheeldon's 'After the Rain' pas de deux and a world premiere by Royal Ballet's dancer-choreographer Joshua Junker titled 'Spells.' As the company looks ahead to its centenary in 2031, O'Hare reflected on the legacy of its founder, Dame Ninette de Valois, citing her words as a guiding mantra: 'She always said, 'Respect the past, look to the future, but concentrate on the present.'' Principal dancer Vadim Muntagirov pointed to the company's ever-challenging and diverse repertoire as its greatest strength. 'It never lets you settle and constantly challenges you,' he said. O'Hare echoed the sentiment. 'I think each choreographic style enhances the other. So even if you're doing something very, very contemporary, that can actually enhance what you bring when you go back to the classics.' One highly anticipated piece, Wayne McGregor's "Chroma," was pulled from the program due to a last-minute injury. O'Hare expressed regret over the change, explaining that the dancer was injured at the end of last week and could not be replaced in time, adding, 'It gives us a very good excuse to return with a Wayne McGregor work in the near future.' The Seoul gala also brings together some of the Royal Ballet's biggest stars, including Benois de la Danse winner Natalia Osipova, Fumi Kaneko and several Korean dancers: first soloists Choe Yu-hui and Jun Joon-hyuk, first artist Kim Bo-min and artist (corps de ballet) Park Han-na. Choe and Jun said they are very proud and grateful to be part of the 'best' ensemble. For Choe, the performance is especially meaningful, as she returned to the stage just nine months after giving birth to her second child. 'It's a group of extraordinary dancers you can't find anywhere else,' Jun said. 'Every day, in rehearsals, in class and on stage, we work to influence one another in the best way possible — not just in how we approach our work, but in our attitude toward ballet itself. Being part of a company that creates that kind of positive cycle is something I take great pride in.'
Korea Herald
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Interview: Lee Young-ae on how antihero 'Hedda' brought her back to stage after 30 years
'We all carry a little bit of Hedda within us,' Lee says In a theatrical coincidence that has stirred anticipation among theatergoers, two major Korean productions of "Hedda Gabler" have been going head to head this spring. Just a day before the National Theater Company of Korea's production at the Myeongdong Theater in central Seoul opened on May 8, the LG Arts Center Seoul's version of Henrik Ibsen's famous psychological drama premiered May 7 with Lee Young-ae in titular role. Directed by Jun In-chul and based on Richard Eyre's contemporary adaptation, the LG Arts Center production transposes Hedda Gabler into the present day. It takes "a lighter, more psychologically accessible approach" to a story of a beautiful upper-class woman disillusioned after an impulsive marriage to an ordinary middle-class man, who returns from her honeymoon only to take her own life within two days. 'I didn't want to play someone just like me -- there's no thrill in that. There's more joy when I step into something different,' Lee said in an interview Tuesday, reflecting on her decision to take on the role of the manipulative, enigmatic antihero. "I read a review where a therapist said many of her clients reminded her of Hedda. That made me think -- even if we seem normal on the outside, maybe we all carry a little bit of Hedda within us. This production is my way of exploring that on stage." Her goal, Lee explained, was not to make Hedda overly tragic or aggressive. 'She's sensitive, but soft, too -- like someone who could live in any house, in any neighborhood,' she said. The show's promotional poster shows the actor smiling sweetly, but Lee said that Hedda's shadows lie just beneath the surface of innocence. Best known for her roles in Park Chan-wook's 'Lady Vengeance' and the globally beloved drama 'Jewel in the Palace,' she last performed in theater in 1993 in a small production at Seoul Arts Center. Lee said her return to the stage after three decades came with the right role at the right time. Lee credited her decision to return to live performance to her mentor, professor Kim Mi-hye, a renowned Ibsen scholar and her doctoral adviser at Hanyang University's Department of Theater and Film. 'Professor Kim had introduced me to many plays over the years and once said, 'If you ever return to theater, Hedda might suit you.'' The idea took root. After watching Jeon Do-yeon in Simon Stone's hit Korean production of "The Cherry Orchard" last year, Lee felt the pull of the stage more strongly than ever. 'I was approached for a different production (at the LG Arts Center). I guess I also had this desire to take the role of Hedda,' Lee said. 'Now that I'm in my 50s, having gone through childbirth and parenting, I feel I've gained the emotional depth that this character demands.' She admitted that 'the desire came with a heavier burden on the shoulders' than she expected -- but added that she has enjoyed every moment of it.
Korea Herald
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Matthew Bourne's all-male ‘Swan Lake' returns to Korea for 30th anniversary
Matthew Bourne's groundbreaking "Swan Lake" — the ballet that catapulted the British choreographer to international fame — is returning to Korea for the first time in six years to mark its 30th anniversary. Reimagined with a menacing and powerful male ensemble of swans in place of the traditional female corps de ballet, the production has garnered both critical acclaim and popular attention worldwide. Since its Korean debut in 2005, the production has been staged four times in the country, drawing over 100,000 theatergoers. LG Arts Center said Sunday that it will host 16 performances of the anniversary production from June 18 to 29. Premiered in 1995, Bourne's Swan Lake transposes the ballet's classical setting to a contemporary royal court of a dysfunctional family. It follows the emotional journey of a young Prince struggling with identity, desire and his complex relationship with the Swan — a symbol of the freedom and love he yearns for. Set to Tchaikovsky's iconic score, the ballet moves between the Prince's dreamlike fantasies and grim realities, traversing shadowy London backstreets, glittering palace ballrooms and a mysterious moonlit lake. The striking image of muscular, bare-chested male swans in shredded, feathered trousers — performing choreography that is both powerful and sensual — remains one of the production's most unforgettable scenes. The production has since become the most successful dance theater work of all time, holding the record as the longest-running full-length dance classic in both the West End and on Broadway, according to the LG Arts Center. The 30th-anniversary staging comes under the banner of 'Next Generation,' highlighting the emergence of the company's rising stars. "As our swans take flight once more in this major revival, I'm full of anticipation for the challenges it will bring for our next generation of dancers and the wonder that it will bring to audiences who will experience it for the very first time," Bourne said in a press release. Taking on the lead role of the Swan are Jackson Fisch and Rory Macleod — both of whom appeared in Bourne's "Romeo and Juliet" at LG Arts Center Seoul last year — as well as Harrison Dowzell, a star performer with New Adventures since 2019. Returning to the stage as the Prince are James Lovell, Stephen Murray and Leonardo McCorkindale, all of whom starred in the 2019 "Swan Lake" in Korea.
Korea Herald
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
SHINee's Minho returns as scientist with OCD in rom-com play ‘Rendezvous'
After making his theatrical debut in "Waiting for Waiting for Godot" last year, Choi Min-ho is back on stage again this time in the romantic comedy "Rendezvous." The SHINee member and actor takes on the role of Tae-seop, a rocket scientist with obsessive-compulsive disorder stemming from childhood trauma. His meticulously structured life is disrupted when he forms an unexpected bond with Ji-hee (played by Kim Ha-ri), the daughter of his go-to Chinese restaurant's owner. As their interactions deepen, Tae-seop gradually confronts his long-standing fears of change and isolation. 'The moment I read the script, I was completely captivated,' Choi said during a press conference on Tuesday. 'I remember ordering food while reading, and when it arrived, I was still so immersed in the script that I barely noticed." Written and directed by South Korean director Kim Jung-han, who goes by the name Yossef K. Junghan, the two-person play's minimalist yet dynamic staging features a long runway reminiscent of a fashion show catwalk, complete with two moving treadmills. With no off-stage exits, Choi and Kim remain in full view for the entire 100-minute run time, creating an intimate theatrical experience. 'The production is both experimental and demanding, which makes it all the more exciting,' Choi said. 'I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous ahead of opening night, but I can't wait for audiences to see it and hear their reactions.' The play premiered at LG Arts Center in 2024. The latest run stars three different actor pairings: Choi and Kim; Park Sung-woong and Lee Soo-kyung; and Park Geon-hyung and Beom Do-ha. The latest staging features three different pairs of actors portraying the central relationship: Choi Minho and Kim Ha-ri; Park Sung-woong and Lee Soo-kyung; and Park Gun-hyung and Beom Do-ha. 'The same script can take on entirely different meanings depending on how an actor interprets and delivers the lines,' said Kim, a director and collaborator who has worked with the renowned Living Theatre in New York since 2009. 'This play isn't just a love story. It explores the universal themes of family, the search for belonging and the ways we fill the voids in our lives. The core emotions and motivations remain relatable across all age groups.'
