Ranga Shankara and InKo Centre, Chennai present Choon-Hyang (True Love), a world-class Korean play in English on 22 October & 23 October at 7.30 pm. This is a part of Ranga Shankara’s Theatre For Children program AHA!, that is supported by Britannia Industries Limited.

Choon-Hyang has played to great acclaim in New York, Edinburgh, Shanghai and Singapore and will play in Bangalore as part of their India tour.

Written and directed by Kevin Kim, Choon-Hyang tells the traditional Korean story of a young girl named Choon-Hyang. A heart-warming tale, it has been passed down orally in Korea for centuries. Choon-Hyang will transport the audience to the magic of ancient Korea through music, dance and the sheer exuberance of its young actors! This acclaimed production by Theatre Seoul stars 19 young Koreans between 9 and 18 years of age.

Another major highlight of the play is that the costumes have been created exclusively from traditional Korean Hanji paper, which is known for extraordinary strength and elasticity. The designs and colours that have been created in this paper for the costumes are amazing and one of its kind.

Tickets are priced at Rs. 200. Online booking is available at www.bookmyshow.com. Like always, Ranga Shankara has organized two shows exclusively for schools, on the mornings of 23 Oct and 24 Oct. Schools can reach out on 26493982 or aha.rangashankara@gmail.com for more details.

The play is for children of 10 years and above.

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More details about the play

Choon-Hyang (True Love)

Troupe: Theatre Seoul

Language: English

Duration: 70 min.

Playwright: Kevin Kim

Director: Kevin Kim

Credits:

Chief planner: Natia Lee

Director: Kevin Kim

Choreography: Kyuwoon Lee

Composer/Sound: Tekn Kim

Costume: Hyunsub Shin

Lighting: Junghoon Lee

Scenery: Bongsoo Park

Synopsis:

A Korean love story that is second only to “Romeo and Juliet”, Choon-Hyang is the daughter of a widow ‘Kisaeng’ (a group of women who made their livelihood by dancing and singing) at Namwon, a southern provincial town of Korea. She happens to meet Lee Mong-Ryong, a son of a noble family, and falls in love with him. However, after a few days, Lee Mong-Ryong leaves Namwon, as his father was to serve in an official position in Hanyang (the old name of Seoul).

In the mean time, a new governor comes to Choon-Hyang’s town. On hearing about Choon-Hyang’s beauty, he approaches her. But Choon-Hyang repeatedly refuses his orders and is jailed. The new governor decides to kill her on his birthday.

Meanwhile in Hanyang, Lee Mong-Ryong successfully passes the ‘Kwago’ (a government exam to recruit high-level officers) and became an ‘Amhaengosa’ (a secret inspector on local administration commissioned by the royal decree). He returns to Choon-Hyang’s town but does not disclose his position. A series of comic incidents follow until Lee Mong-Ryong discloses his identity at the birthday party of the governor. He then punishes the governor for his misbehaviour and is happily reunited with Choon-Hyang

Profile of Theatre Seoul

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Established in October 1995
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English musical for children, by children, and of children.
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A combination of English-language theatre and the musical genre, which brings together education and drama
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Korea’s first and the largest English Musical Theatre for Children with almost 100 members

Highlights of the play

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The major highlight of the play is that it is Theatre for Children by Children! The cast includes 19 young Koreans between 9 & 18 years of age.

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What’s more, costumes for the play have been created exclusively from traditional Korean Hanji paper, which is known for paper extraordinary strength and elasticity. (Hanji paper, made from the bark of kind of mulberry tree, has unprecedented length of cellulose fibres created during process of paper pulp production. This unique feature of gives the paper its extraordinary resilience!)

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The acclaimed production has travelled the world including New York, Shanghai, Edinburgh and Singapore. “Brimming with enthusiasm ..all the ensemble moments are faultless,” acknowledges a review in The Scotsman.