The performance is already underway as the audience enters, greeted by what must be one of the most beautiful sets at the Fringe. Six women sit in a spacious room furnished with bamboo mats, muslin, brass and wooden ornaments, and a plethora of ebulliently coloured fabrics draped over bamboo hangers. Four housemaids dressed in simple yet stylish brown bundles contrast with the bright hamboks of the mistress and her mother. All are engaged silently and rhythmically in their chores, until the story begins.
This is a tale within a tale. Set in nineteenth century Korea, a young bride prepares for her wedding: trying on her hand-stitched gown and receiving words of wisdom from her mother and the housemaids. The atmosphere is convivial and the air light as the housemaids implore her to read their favourite story aloud. It's a story of generations past, heaven and earth, star crossed lovers, honour and filial duty. The story is beautifully told, and as the bride reads aloud the listeners revel in familiar words and magical lands, stitching in harmony with each other. At times of dialogue, the bride lip-synchs the words and various housemaids speak them, each becoming immersed in their character for a time. The timing is perfect.
The muslin of the back wall sometimes becomes a screen, conjuring up delicate images of lotus blossoms, gardens and seascapes, which float past as if in a dream. As the tension rises in the plot, so too does the lighting - changing from the brilliance of the sun to more sinister shades of moonlight. Accompanied throughout by a housemaid on a drum, the music is atmospheric and low key. Each character is played with understated elegance; the widowed lady is a wonderful juxtaposition of naivety and coarseness, providing moments of softness and humour.
The story is told in Korean with surtitles on the top left of the backdrop. Unfortunately, this makes it quite difficult to both read the surtitles and watch the action, and often you have to make a choice between the two.
The final dance is beautifully simplistic and although it’s not clear what or who it’s about, it rounds off the performance gloriously.
