Interview with Jung-Ung Yang – Director of Yohangza Theatre Company Yohangza Theatre Company in A Midsummer Night's Dream Photo Courtesy of Barbican Theatre
Translated and summerised by MJ Chung
Mary: Hello, thanks very much for taking time out from your busy schedule to do this interview! Could you please tell our readers about Yohangza Theatre Company? How and when was the company formed? How have its original ideas and intentions developed over time?
Jung-Ung: Yohangza was formed in 1997 aiming to look for new theatre based on diverse experiments focused on physical expression rather than text. Yohangza in Korean means 'travellers' and the name of the company says that we aspired to travel to all the corners of the globe from the very beginning. In that sense, universality was the most important feature of our productions. Now, we've developed many more skills of Korean traditional elements such as music and dance, after long and continuous training. So we became more able to develop the unity of the tradition and contemporary compared to earlier productions.
Mary: On Yohangza Theatre’s Website, the company is described as ‘an exciting collision of past and present…reworking of existing Korean styles and themes infused with contemporary elements and driven by a thirst for experimentation.’ And the fluid movements of the actors in the production seemed like a combination of mime, martial arts and modern dance to me. Could you please elaborate a little more on those ideas Jung-Ung?
Jung-Ung: I think that tradition in itself doesn't mean anything. When I make the collision of traditional theatrical elements such as Japanese Kabuki, Indian Katakhali, Korean martial arts to name a few with contemporary, tradition finally becomes meaningful. Moreover, all those different traditional elements from different cultures are only materials to me from which I can freely choose and make them work together to express what I want to. Different traditional elements have different roles: sometimes as a motive of the show, sometimes a theme or sometimes as only a way of expression. It all depends on the show and what I need to figure out is how to make them work.
Mary: Having seen, and enjoyed Yohangza’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream the other night, I have to say that I found it to be one of the most delightful theatrical experiences I’ve ever had! One of the things I liked most about it was the way in which it weaves Korean legend and myth (which turned out to be surprisingly in synch with the playful aspects of Shakespeare’s text) into its context. Combining elements of both cultures is a great way of reminding your audiences how much we, as human beings really do have in common, inside, in our psyches, despite external differences. Is combining cultures a feature of all of Yahangza Theatre Company’s productions?
Jung-Ung: Combining cultures is obviously one of the main features of our company. However, combining Oriental culture with Western culture is not the only thing I do. Yohangza sometimes does text-based Korean plays without many Western elements - in that case, the cultural collision happens between Old Korea and Present Korea. So the collision can happen in a much wider sense depending on productions.
Mary: From what I’ve read, I understand that Yohangza Theatre Company’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream was very well received at the Edinburgh Festival last year. What was it like staging the production there, and how did you feel when you realized that the show was a hit? Would you consider going to Edinburgh again?
Jung-Ung: In Edinburgh, the theatre space was much smaller (200seats) and there was no set except musical instruments at the back of the stage. There were no subtitles either. So the environment maximised the audiences' imagination and it worked very well. I had some expectations for the Edinburgh tour because it was already after a few international tours. But in fact, when I saw those audiences laughing into tears, I was really glad and relieved. If I can, I want to go back to Edinburgh with a new production in the near future. Only problem is that Edinburgh is too expensive to run a show.
Mary: I’ve noticed that Yohangza have performed in a production based on a Shakespearean play before - Huan (Illusion) drawn on Macbeth, which you directed in 2004, in Korea. What draws you to Shakespeare? Are you thinking of doing any more productions, based on anything from the Bard’s cannon?
Jung-Ung: Shakespeare is my favourite playwright because his plays have the potential to be spectacle and they are touching, philosophical, and most of all, fun! I want to do Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Hamlet and King Lear.
Mary: Yohangza Theatre Company has done a lot of traveling in their time, and, won many awards, including ‘Best Production’ at the Cairo International Festival of Experimental Theatre in 2003. Which production was that award for? And what was it like putting on a production at that festival?
Jung-Ung: For Cairo festival, I did Karma which was an image theatre without narratives portraying four major rituals of life: death, wedding, growing up and birth. It was a very visual piece full of collage of images. The reception was incredible. In the last performance held after the award for the Best Production, all the audience of 2,000 people rose up and gave us a standing ovation. I was stunned.
Mary: You’ve also won South Korea’s Best Young Playwright of the Year Award in 2003. What was that award for, and what was it like winning it?
Jung-Ung: The Korean award was just after Cairo and one year after the premier of A Midsummer Night Dream in Korea. So I presumed that it was for our company's success at Cairo and in Korea for those two years.
Mary: In November 2003, Yohangza Theatre Company was also invited to perform their production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Japan. Could you tell us about that experience?
Jung-Ung: Japanese theatre staff told me that they were quite surprised to see those used-to-be-very-quiet-and-gentle Tokyo audiences react to the show by clapping and laughing. I was glad to see they enjoyed the show beyond the cultural difference and I was convinced of the potential of the show on the international stage.
Mary: After Yohangza Theatre Company’s production finishes its run at the Barbican Theatre on Saturday, July 1 st, they will be moving on to Bristol, where the production will be on at the Tobacco Factory until July 22 nd. What are the plans for the company after that? Judging by the rapturous applause at the Barbican the other night, it seems as though the company could be returning to London in the not too distant future…
Jung-Ung: After Bristol, we are going to go to Nuess for Shakespeare Festival in Glove Neuss, Germany (26-27 July) and to Gdansk for Gdansk Festival, Poland (2-3 August).
Mary: Are you working on any new projects for Yohangza Theatre Company for the future?
Jung-Ung: I am working on few ideas for the next show but haven’t decided yet which one to do.
Mary: Your direction has been described as ‘inspired’ Jung-Ung. And as Yohangza’s work has been described as having ‘characteristic Korean Mis-en-scene’ I’d like to know how influenced you are by film. Also, who or what inspires you, and your work?
Jung-Ung: I liked film from childhood. I’m from the Film generation so I have been inspired by many films. Also I've learned painting from when I was very young and always wanted to be a painter. More or less, I've kept my passion for visual expression from the beginning. Theatre-wise, I was mostly inspired by Grotowski, the great director.
Mary: Thanks very much for doing this interview Jung-Ung. On behalf of myself, and EXTRA! EXTRA! I wish you, and Yohangza Theatre Company the best of luck with all of your future endeavours .
Interview from EXTRA! EXTRA! The only online theatrical publication for and by its readers
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Conducted by Mary Couzens – Editor of EXTRA! EXTRA!