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The Edinburgh Fringe Festival (also known as The Fringe) is the world's largest arts festival, and it takes place in Scotland's capital Edinburgh for three weeks every August.
The Fringe attracts acts from all branches of performing arts from drama, comedy, dance, dance to music. This year, the festival turns 62. Some 2000 performances from across the globe will be on the stage in 247 theatres throughout the city from Aug. 3 to 25.
Since Korea's successful non-verbal percussion performance “Nanta” also known as “Cookin” in English knocked on the door of the festival in 1999 – the first Korean production to do so -- Korean theaters have been striving to put their shows on at the festival and use it as a springboard to the international stage.
Since then, other Korean performances such as “A Midsummer Night's Dream' by the Yohangza Theater Company, and the martial arts-based performance “Jump” by Yegam have successfully followed. This year, a total of 14 works by Korean theaters are to delight audiences in Edinburgh.
In order to help Korean artists make inroads onto overseas stages, the Korea Arts Management Service, a non-profit organization established to assist in the development of Korean performing arts, has selected three shows to sponsor. The selected shows each receive 30 million won (about $29,000) along with public relations assistance.
The three works are Mong Yeon (A Love in Dream), the Angel and the Woodcutter, and Junk Band Story ... Uh?! “Mong Yeon”, translated as “A Love in Dream” deals with a unique and beautiful Korean tale of love, loss, reincarnation and philosophy. Refusing to cope with the loss of love in the real world, the heroine retreats to a living world of dreams.
"The Angel and the Woodcutter" is a heartbreaking story amidst war and desperation with a profound anti-war message. This exquisite movement theater, told entirely without words, is said to be a triumph of communication. "Junk Band Story ... Uh?!" is a spellbinding comedy band performance, done in a very unconventional way.
With no instruments and no money, performers use recycled trash that they themselves have collected over a year. Don't miss this electrifying masterpiece. Among other works to be presented, "Arirang Party" is getting some attention.
It is an extreme musical dance spectacular, direct from its hit run in Seoul, featuring world-class percussionist Choi So-ri with a combination of street/tap/martial arts dance crews who guarantee you'll party the night away. A performance titled "Skywalk" will be seen as a barometer for whether musicals about b-boys (break dance performers) will be successful on the international stage.
Skywalk (featuring MBCrew), is a dance musical combining the two somewhat contrasting genres of b-boy and musicals. MBCrew are one of the leading exponents of the Korean-wave street dance phenomenon: their expertise is astonishing.
For those who want to get a taste of Taekwondo, Korean martial arts, can watch "Family," an extreme mix of Taekwondo, hip hop street dance, comic lunacy and overall physical brilliance.
Other Korean shows to be staged include "Dream of Cat," "Choonhyang True Love," and "Mr. Gong's Hair Salon."
This article appeared on www.korea.net
Aug 5, 2008
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