EWAN CAMERON picks out two fascinating music shows, fusing the Korean, and the Celtic, with the modern
Korean divide bridged by bond of blood
(L to R) Jung Sun den Hollander as Seung-Ki and Kwong Loke as Kwan-Suk
[Kirsten McTernan]
BENJAMIN POTHIER suggests that Palaeolithic cave paintings in Spain point to the ceremonial use of hallucinogenic flora
The bard confirms that the right has a humour bypass, and replays the English Revolution on period instruments
MARIA DUARTE and ANDY HEDGECOCK review Sunny Dancer, Tony, Songs of Forgotten Trees, and The End of Oak Street
JOHN GREEN relishes a powerful and moving drama that explores the lived realities of west London’s Punjabi community
MARTIN HALL welcomes a plea for greater compassion between believer and non-believer via the framework of philosophical enquiry
What Remains of Us
Bristol Old Vic
DAVID LANE’S play based on a brief reunion of North and South Korean families 60 years after the Korean War has taken on a profound relevance with the current conflict in Ukraine.
The division of Korea saw the displacement of 10 million families and since 1953 there have been 21 state-controlled family reunions where parents and children selected by their country have had the opportunity to meet each other under the watchful eyes of both the authorities and the world’s press.
Seung-Ki (Jung Sun den Hollander) the daughter of Kwan-Suk (Kwong Loke) last saw her father 50 years previously when he joined the South Korean army. Her family have clung on to his memory despite hearing nothing in all that time. News of his existence and ability to meet up with her at the Red Cross organised reunion has stirred up the past and raised many questions.
Similar stories
Family issues and dragon-fuelled history amount to a vacuous spectacle that ill-fits the theatre, muses SIMON PARSONS
SIMON PARSONS applauds the timely revival of a play about solidarity and betrayal within Britain’s Pakistani community
GORDON PARSONS appreciates fine performances and a feel for ambiguity, but misses the music of the dialogue
SIMON PARSONS applauds an artist who rescues and rehumanises stories of women, the victims of violence, from a feminist perspective