Now We Are Four

It has felt like a real beginning today. For the first time we had our musician, Ayako with us, the fourth member of the performing team. At the same time we were joined by the Costume Designer, So Young and a new translator, Dong Myong, who is fluent in English and Japanese. This was his first experience of working within the theatre.

At the start of the day we played a wild game of Korean tag, just in case anyone had forgotten the level of energy of which this company is capable, and then got stuck into the play. Using the fact that Ayako is here for the first time, the three characters introduced themselves to her, in a long hot-seating session, and then we worked on the first three scenes of the play, getting used to the new mixture of working from the script. It was great to have Blue Aka and Norang back with us – we have somehow missed them since October. Having a script gives a different dynamic to the sessions, but there was as much fun and as much invention as ever, once we all shook off the rust a little.

For today and tomorrow, Ayako will be mostly watching, while we work thought the whole play, marking the script decisions, and fixing the exact production needs. She treated the company to a rundown of the instruments that she has with her at the end of the session, though, and by the end of a long day, including a barbecue in Insadong and a coffee and cakes, in Jongno, and she already feels part of the team.

In the afternoon, the writers meeting included So Young, who had new costume drawings to share, and we talked through the practicalities as well as ideas of detail with her. There was no time to plan the rest of the week’s sessions, before we lost Dong Myeong, so that conversation had to happen without translation – but then it is noticeable how much more we are managing across our language barriers these days.

Milorad flew off to Jeju Island for a few days today, he will be back for Friday. That night Minato gives a big concert in Seoul, before joining us at the weekend. We alos heard that Ayako [the other Ayako – assistant producer who was with us in Birmingham] will be here next week, when Judy and Shimoyama also make their visits and Simon arrives as well. So our lunchtime restaurant, which is proving a great success, will struggle to contain the company…..