Iaggi Boddari: The Story Bundle - Touring

Iaggi Boddari The Story Bundle
Presented by Moby Duck

At Half Moon Young People's Theatre, 43 White Horse Road, London, E1 0ND
2 October
1 hour
Tour venues: www.moby-duck.org

Half Moon Theatre: www.halfmoon.org.uk
Review: Peter Kinsey 2 October

Korean Tales brought to life with skill, humour and versatilityMoby Duck is a Birmingham-based company performing high-quality work, exploring the common ground between cultures. They tour to both young children and adults in small and middle theatres, arts centres, village halls and schools, besides less conventional venues. Their performances are presented employing a wide range of musical traditions and styles, dance, masks, mime, puppetry and much more.

If this sounds like a press release, well it is. (At least my paraphrase). If it sounds like the work is worthy or academic, well it's not. This show, Iaggi Boddari, the company's current tour, tells two Korean stories in a simple, direct and colourful way, using two performers and a musician.

The company's cultural credentials couldn't be better: One performer, Yang Hye Junge is a Korean puppeteer and actor; the musician, Mira Yugai, comes from the Korean Community in Kazakhstan; and the director and writer, Peter Wynne-Wilson, has been Visiting Professor in Children's Theatre
to South Korea's National University of the Arts for the least five years.

Yang Hye Junge gets the show off to a good start, warmly engaging the audience both outside the auditorium before the play begins, and inside, setting the stage for the first story. She is soon joined by Lizzy Hughes, and together they set up a neat double act: Lizzy as the assertive Pom and Yang Hye Junge as Hak, her apprentice storyteller, ever keen to tell her favourite tale, The Green Frog.

The first story tells of Onuri's journey to Wonchungang (The Land Far Away Across The Sea). In the best storytelling tradition, on her way out it allows her to meet characters with riddles to solve, on her return she has the answers. It also gives Craig Denston opportunity to design an effective set of transforming screens, as well as beautiful puppets. There is no eastern generalisation here, but a real attention to Korean detail, in the houses, temples and hills, not to mention the costumes.

The puppets seem to give the performers pleasure too, enabling Lizzy Hughes, who supplies virtually all their distinctive voices, to display a broad versatility. Yang Hye Junge matches this with Hak's solo account of The Green Frog, which she at last has a chance to tell, when Pom is out of the way! Magically creating puppet characters from kitchen utensils, she lightens a sad story with a great deal of comic wit.

This is an imaginative and enjoyable hour for both adults and children. Try to catch the show on tour, or, if you miss it, keep an eye out for the next one, Firegirl. Website above!

Company

Performer: Yang Hye Jung
Performer: Lizzy Hughes
Musician: Mira Yugai
Designer/puppet maker: Craig Denston
Writer/Director: Peter Wynne-Willson

2004-10-03 20:44:37