On July 25th 2013, twelve cast/crew members of "House of Atreus" flew 11 hours to South Korea to perform as part of the 25th annual Keochang International Festival of Theatre. That's a lot of numbers! We were warmly welcomed at the airport by Ji-won and Jay who were to be our guides, honorary crew members, and eventually, friends on this whirlwind journey. We rehearsed 9 hours in the blazing sun on the first day and on opening night, welcomed nearly 200 people into the audience. The second day awarded us a few hours respite from rehearsing and the cast and crew went their separate ways to swim in the river, explore Buddhist temples, and hike among the beautiful scenery of rural Busan. Second night show was another success and among the spectators was Jong-Il -the chairman of the festival. The final scene coincided with a thunderstorm that was on the way, you couldn't ask for a more dramatic finish to the show. The gods themselves must have been looking down on our performance! After the final bows, Jong-Il invited us out to dinner and presented us with gifts. He also invited us back next year with a few ideas of shows we could produce. We were so honored that he enjoyed the performance. Before we knew it, we were back on London soil. It was over too quickly! We would like to take a moment to thank The Keochang Festival for their hospitality and help, Jay and Ji-Won for going above and beyond, and lastly, the cast and crew who worked so hard without complaint and made this tour so special. Well done to all involved! Here's to next year....!?
Crew - Jo Bunnell-Thompson, Jay Oh, Ji-won Jeon
Orestis - James Williams
Clytaemnestra - Cheska Moon
Electra - Lucia Young
Nurse - Joan Plunkett
Ageisthus - Christopher Slater
And lastly the chorus - who probably had the most to rehearse with all the additional movement...
Chorus Leader - Sonnie Beckett
Chorus - Miranda Colmans, Josie Beth Davies, Maria Palmu, Deborah Ward