Hard for anything in the festival... to top this
- The Business Times, Singapore
In a nutshell:
Boundary-breaking theatre that won't let you go / Four pianos, and pianists / A first for our city
Script and Lyrics: Han Areum
Director: Seo Jae-Hyung
Composer: Choe Uzong
Performed in Korean with English surtitles
The Chorus; Oedipus is a contemporary Korean theatre work that uses a riveting mix of music, movement and drama to re-imagine Sophocles’ well-known Greek tragedy as a music theatre work.
In this incredible adaptation, the chorus is the star. Sinewy and athletic they move in unison, channeling a foreboding wind, a chariot, a flock of birds and the tormented Oedipus himself. The play is underscored by pianists performing live on four pianos and high-energy, in-the-moment choreography and harmonic vocals.
Rich in metaphor and imagery, and layered with spectacularly nuanced and beautiful performances, The Chorus; Oedipus is intimate in scale and epic in scope. A huge box-office hit at 2014’s Singapore International Arts Festival, The Chorus; Oedipus had audiences clamoring to get tickets.
Witness how this tale as old as time becomes as fresh, contemporary, stylish and original as it was when it first hit the ampitheatre 2,500 years ago in Ancient Greece.
Photograph: JD Woo and Tuckys Photography
Post-show talk: Friday 18 March