***** (5 stars)
“Such a joy! “
As a K-drama addict, I simply had to see this show: I was not disappointed, even though demons, spirits and idols failed to appear. As anyone who has watched Mystic Pop-up Bar will know, the small orange tent-live structures [pojangmacha] that appear in the evenings and are gone by morning are a feature of night life in Seoul and many other cities in that part of the world.
There is, in truth, a small orange tent waiting for us as we come into the Studio Theatre: it’s lit up inside, but we can’t see through the awnings that stretch down to the floor. Screens each side of the stage show us a panorama of Seoul – the masses of high-rise buildings, some offices, many flats – we can even see people at the windows of some of them. We look down on the multi-lane highways, thronged with cars, and then swoop down to street level. We leave the wide streets and dive into a network of tiny alleys, all startlingly clean and free from rubbish, devoid of people but thronging with tiny businesses: most of the signs are in Korean, but I spot Guinness high on a wall, and would like to slow down and browse, but no – on we must go.
And then, finally, we see a pojangmacha in front of us, slightly larger than the one on stage, but unmistakeably the same. Jaha Koo comes on stage and silently starts getting his little bar ready for business – removing the awnings, putting the stools back on the floor, cleaning the surfaces – ready for the first customers of the night.
The house lights go up, and Jaha comes towards us, inviting two audience members to be his customers: oh lucky Kirsty and Hugo! They sit on the two stools and are introduced first to soju [a clear liquid not unlike vodka, 60% alcohol] and maekju, Korean beer [about 4.5%] which are mixed to create a cocktail which they sip while watching Jaha preparing their appetiser – cucumber with ssamjan sauce. Oh how I wished I were a customer at that bar, as Hugo and Kirsty are introduced to more Korean dishes…
But this is not a Korean cooking show!
It’s a multidisciplinary meditation on home, family, memory, diaspora and displacement, adaptation and unconscious protest. Music, song, film, animation, recorded voices, and spoken narrative intertwine to create a multilayered explanation and exploration of Jaha’s family history and personal experience of voluntary and involuntary displacement. Kimchi [including exploding kimchi] features largely, as do snails, eels, and gummy bears. There is kindness and cruelty, friendship and ‘othering’: and so much to think about.
Food is a constant presence in Jaha’s story – familiar food reminds us of who we are and where we come from; sharing food with others can be sharing part of one’s history; and in so doing, one can feel less alone. Going back home can simply point out how one doesn’t belong there either: perhaps almost all of us are perpetually displaced – routes have become our roots.
It’s a gentle, fascinating show which gives one much to think about. If you knew nothing about South Korea before the show, by the end you would have had a much better idea of the country and its culture. For me, it was a delight to spend time ‘in’ a country I’ve come to know and love.
But the best things of all were the amazingly cute singing snail and the illuminated, animated eel…
Such a joy! Gamsahamnida! Thank you, Jaha Koo!
Haribo Kimchi, Edinburgh International Festival, Festival Theatre’s Studio Theatre, Runs until 24th August for more information go to: Haribo Kimchi | Edinburgh International Festival
ScotsGay Arts 