|
|
Home : Program : Theatre |
 |
Hamlet - Korea
|
|
|
|
|
| Time : |
Oct 30(Fri) ~ Nov 8(Sun)
Mon~Fri : 20:00
Sat-Sun 16:00
***English Subtitles will be provided. |
| Venue : |
Myeongdong Theater |
| Ticket Price : |
R : 50,000 won
S : 35,000 won
A : 20,000 won |
| Duration : |
around 180 min |
| Company : |
Yohangza Theatre Company |
| Original Work : |
William Shakespeare |
|
|
|
Another round of Eastern colors for Hamlet by Yohangza Theatre Company, the producer of Midsummer Night's Dream! |
A Korean version of William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Based on the 1603 first edition of Hamlet by Shakespeare and well-known translated editions available in Korea, Hamlet has been restructured on a wider scale for the stage. The framework and linguistic aesthetics of the earlier edition has been saved to which staging, costume and music have been added to provide more affinity with Korean traditions and Shaman culture.
|
Appealing to both Korean and global aesthetic senses, Hamlet !
Anyone would choose Hamlet as the essence of tragedy from Shakespeare's repertoire. Moreover, the character of Hamlet is one of the most appealing protagonists of all as he is forever contemplating on the threshold of life and death. Finally, Hamlet has encountered Yang Jung Ung and the Yohangza Theatre Company, which has already adapted A Midsummer Night's Dream. Constantly considering ways to incorporate elements of Korean tradition into modern drama, Yang Jung Ung and the Yohangza Theatre Company have incorporated elements of Gut, Han and Salpulyi to convey the characters and this play of revenge and intrigue. Like a single case of Gut, the shamanistic conversation with the gods, the process of Salpulyi is unraveled in the drama.
Yang Jung Ung and the Yohangza Theatre Company experimenting with Eastern imagery!
The Yohangza Theatre Company's stage is filled with symbolic objects, lyrical images, music, and experimentations, which are unveiled in the mis-en-scène of anger and sadness of Hamlet. The minimal stage is covered with the sophisticated beauty of lines and colors and the 'beauty of empty space or margin'. Director Yang Jung Ung and stage artist Yim Iljin have joined forces to create a marvelous stage once again. The dynamic language of Shakespeare is expressed through the bodies and images presented by sixteen actors of the company and the dramatic language of Yang Jung Ung. The conflict and confrontation between the protagonists and death is accompanied by modernized traditional shaman music.
|
|
|
| Director |
Yang Jung Ung founded the Yohangza Theatre Company in 1997. He rose to critical fame with The Chairs in 2001 in which emphasis was placed on restrained use of language and images. His aesthetic philosophy has been the creation of images that are produced through harmony among the lighting, sound and bodily movements. He has expanded the horizon of dramatic language with his exceptional directorship that relies on harmonizing Eastern philosophy with the aesthetics of images and space. He received the Grand Prix for Karma (2003) at the 15th Cairo International Experimental Drama Festival. In 2006, the company was the first Korean company to perform at the Barbican in London. A Midsummer Night's Dream went on to receive the Grand Prix and Audience Award at the 10th Gdansk Shakespeare Festival. As a director, he has been exploring new genres with the drama Peer Gynt, operas Woyzeck and Chunsaengyonbun and the ballet musical Shimchung.
Awards
2006 Citation from the Minister of Culture and Tourism
2005 New Writer by Literature Monthly <Mishil>
No.1 Next Generation Director voted by professionals in the field hosted by Donga Ilbo
2004 Best Staff at the 1st Dramatist Award voted by netizens
Promising Dramatist Award at the HyeeSuh Drama Awards (Named after the late critic, Guh HyeeSuh)
2003 Top Five Next Generation Directors voted by professionals in the field hosted by Dong Ilbo
Young Artist Award for Drama by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism
2001 Voted New Dramatist by the Korean Institute of Culture and Arts, Promising Dramatist of 21st Century by the International Association of Theatre Critics-Korea |
| Company |
Seeking new adventures, Yohangza Theatre Company
Yohangza Theatre Company was formed in 1997. This year marks its twelfth anniversary.
In partnership with the CJ Culture Foundation since 2009, it has taken part in culture sharing activities for the socially deprived, drama creations and overseas culture funding to serve as a stimulant in the world of drama and arts. It has shown a series of high-quality works that organically combine Eastern music, costume, and stage art with bodily formations in Karma, Whan, Mishil and most recently, Midsummer Night's Dream. The stylistic nature of the company to employ Korean concept of beauty has been acknowledged overseas for the artistic excellence of its works.
The company has been the subject of serious acclaim at festivals and has received the Grand Prix for Karma at the 15th Cairo International Experiments in Drama in 2003 and Grand Prix and Audience Award for A Midsummer Night's Dream at the 10th Gdansk International Shakespeare Festival in 2006. In 2006, it was the first Korean drama company to be invited to the Barbican in London, marking a remarkable achievement for Korean drama.
The company seeks to enhance the universality of language of drama and to create a unique world of drama by employing imagery created by the bodies of the actors and sensual mis-en-scène departing from line-oriented drama. In addition, it has been interested in facilitating communication with the audience by exploring the nature of drama through experimental and yet audience-friendly drama. |
Reviews
Shakespearean drama by a Korean director has been presented to the world audience.
The host of the 10th Gdansk International Shakespeare Festival has announced that Yohangza Theatre Company's A Midsummer Night's Dream was awarded the Grand Prix on August 12, 2006.
• Overcoming the language barrier to receive an award
It is the first time that a Korean drama company has won a major prize at an international drama festival. A Midsummer Night's Dream was invited as the opening work for the festival. It was performed for two days on August 2 and 3, 2006.
Yohangza Theatre Company's director, Yang Jung Ung, was ecstatic with the result; "The audience was sending us a huge round of applause during the performance. But, I never expected us to win the Grand Prix."
Unlike music and dance with their excellent results at international competitions, Korean drama works have never gained awards at international festivals or competitions before.
- Shakespeare is enthralled by the Korean goblin. Donga Ilbo 8.15.2006
What is the most highly rated Korean drama by foreign critics over the past hundred years?
The answer is revealed at the LC Arts Center on June 17-20, 2006. It is none other than A Midsummer Night's Dream by Yohangza Theatre Company (directed by Yang Jung-Ung). It is going to be performed at the London Barbican Center on June 26-27, 2006. It is the first time that the Barbican Center, one of the best performance stages, along with Lincoln Center, in the world, has invited a Korean drama to be performed on its stage. With the international audience in mind, it was prepared in 2002. It is a comedy rich in Korean sounds and elements such as the Korean goblin and Sameul Nori. This is exporting Korean-made Shakespearean drama abroad to the very heart of Shakespearean drama.
- A Midsummer Night's Dream takes the world by storm_Chosun Ilbo 6.15.2006
|
|
