ALMATY – The Korean theatre has brought to Kazakhstan a musical-poetic drama, Legend of Arirang. The performance with a minimum of scenery, costumes and cast (only six actors) has a deep philosophical content. The music in it is piano compositions echoing Korean traditional throat singing, pansori. The amazing plasticity of the actors, their beautiful voices, touching songs and graceful dances made up for the scarcity of scenery. There was nothing to distract the audience from the main action.
The song Arirang is a hymn to Koreans, to mother’s love, bitterness of parting with her dearly beloved son, and the pain of loss. Mother symbolises the home country, and her son is the people.
“The song brings about the associations with a high mountain that man wants to conquer in order to reach spiritual maturity. There are many ethnic Koreans in Kazakhstan, and we are pleased that they remember their roots. For this reason we feel a special responsibility in showing the performance,” said director, actress of Hung Song theatre Kim Soo Min.
According to the director of Kazakhstan’s State Korean Theatre of Musical Comedy Lyubov Ni, they prioritise cooperation with the Republic of Korea’s theatre and every year take part in the International Theatre Festival in Korea, whose artists in turn come with performances and concerts to Almaty. It helps strengthen the bilateral relations in culture, she believes.
