| Date: |
May-June 2009 |
| Written by: |
Ben Elton |
| Directed by: |
Liam Mitchinson |
| Produced by: |
Pamela Muñoz |
| Venue: |
Phillies Basement, Haebangchon
(Noksapyeong Station) |
A light comedy that takes you into the world of celebrity gossip and tabloid journalism at its worst.
Show Times:
- (Media Preview: Friday, May 29 at 9:00pm)
- Sat, May 30 at 9:00pm
- Sun, May 31 at 6:00pm
- Fri, Jun 5 at 9:00pm
- Sat, Jun 6 at 6:00pm & 9:00pm
- Sun, Jun 7 at 6:00pm
- Fri, Jun 12 at 9:00pm
- Sat, Jun 13 at 6:00pm & 9:00pm
(SEOUL ® May 6, 2009) – Seoul Players invites the English-speaking community to peer into the private lives of celebrities through Doris, a successful tabloid news journalist played by Desiree Munro of Australia, who does whatever it takes to hunt the famous down and publicize their most embarrassing details. Seoul Players, now in its eighth production year, is staging its 14th production, Silly Cow written by Ben Elton, which opens Saturday, May 30 and continues through June 13, 2009 at Phillie’s Basement in Haebangchon.
“This is my first production with Seoul Players,” said Munro, “I couldn’t be more thrilled to play a queen of tabloids. Britney Spears probably wouldn’t stand a chance if she ever came head-to-head with her!”
All actors volunteer their time for rehearsals and show dates – a commitment that has extended to a six-week rehearsal schedule, plus three weeks of performances. The cast and crew come from all corners of the world, including Korea, South Africa, USA, Canada, UK and Australia. The love of theatre is the one thing they all have in common.
“I was looking for an opportunity to act,” said Gef Somervell, a UK native, who plays Sydney in Silly Cow. “Seoul Players provides a great life-line for people looking to get involved in theatre, especially when they have a background from back home.” Somervell’s interest in drama began almost 20 years ago, while studying at Rose Buford College, a performing arts school in the UK.
Come and join Seoul Players for this delightful comedy and meet the various characters in Doris’s life that give new meaning to the word ‘dysfunctional.’ Seoul Players recommends to reserve tickets early at seoulplayers@gmail.com to avoid disappointment. Visit www.seoulplayers.com for more information. It’s a show you won’t want to miss!
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Press article:
Comedy production Silly Cow - rare theatrical treat for expats
By Kim Hee-sung
Korea.net
June 4, 2009
Not many theaters in Korea run productions in English. So don't miss this opportunity to enjoy some good English theater played by some enthusiastic and talented expat thespians.
Seoul Players, a group of drama-loving actors from overseas but now living in Korea, presents “Silly Cow” (1993) a work by British comedian, playwright and director Ben Elton at Phillies Basement in Haebangchon, Seoul. The show is currently on, having begun last Friday and running till next Saturday (June 13).
The show opens with Doris Wallace, a columnist at a tabloid paper famous for biting remarks and criticism against celebrities of stage and screen. She believes she has got it all and nothing can stop her, until things start to fall apart in her life, one after the other.
How good can a theatrical production of volunteer players be? Very good. And they act fast and speak fast. Keep up with the speed of the jokes and you'll probably become familiar with all the colorful slang and curse words currently used in England.
It's a 100-minute show with a 10 minute interval, the first act focused on establishing the characters and the second going fast forward to what is happening to them. It's a humorous example of the apple-bites-back situation that you should just find out for yourself.
All the performers have at least a degree or qualification in acting, and both leading ladies Angel Campey and Desiree Munro have been acting since five and six, respectively. Douglas Lance has performed with Walt Disney Theatrics and in many Shakespeare festivals, Keith Power was in several productions at home in Canada and Gef Somervell has been writing and directing for years. Director Liam Mitchinson has created productions for the Melbourne Comedy and Fringe Festivals and has other experience in writing and directing. Last but not least is a Korean, 18-year-old stage manager Janet Kim, who will begin her Stage Management Summer Course at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Together they make a great team.
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Press article:
Seoul Players Presents Light Comedy Silly Cow
By Stephanie Glover
The Korea Times
June 2, 2009
Seoul Players invites the English-speaking community to peer into the private lives of celebrities through Doris, a successful tabloid news journalist played by Desiree Munro of Australia, who does whatever it takes to hunt the famous down and publicize their most embarrassing details.
Silly Cow is a light comedy that takes you into the world of celebrity gossip and tabloid journalism at its worst.
Seoul Players, now in its eighth year, is staging its 14th production, Silly Cow, written by Ben Elton, which opened Saturday, and continues through June 13, at Phillie's Basement in Haebangchon.
"This is my first production with Seoul Players,'' said Munro, "I couldn't be more thrilled to play a queen of tabloids. Brittany Spears probably wouldn't stand a chance if she ever came to head-to-head with her''
All actors volunteer their time for rehearsals and show dates ― a commitment that has extended to a six-week rehearsal schedule, plus three weeks of performances. The cast and crew come from all corners of the world, including Korea, South Africa, the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia. The love of theatre is one thing that they have in common.
"I was looking for an opportunity to act,'' said Gef Somervell a U.K. native, who plays Sydney in Silly Cow. "Seoul Players provides a great life-line for people looking to get involved in theater, especially when they have a background from back home.'' Somervell's interest in drama began almost 20 years ago, while studying at Rose Buford College a performing arts school in the U.K.
Come and join Seoul Players for this delightful comedy and meet the various characters in Doris's life that give new meaning to the word "dysfunctional." Seoul Players recommends to reserve tickets early at seoulplayers@gmail.com to avoid disappointment. Visit www.seoulplayers.com for more information.
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Press article:
Actors Turn Local Watering Hole into Thespian Bar
By David Kendall
Korea4expats.com
May 31, 2009
Haebangchon (Liberation Village) in Yongsan near Noksapyeong got its name after thousands of refugees from North Korea set up a shanty town on its steep hillside. Today, American GIs, English teachers and Nigerian businessmen seem more prevalent than Koreans. And on a recent Wednesday night in one of the shops that caters to Haebangchon expats, seven people, one each from Canada, Korea, South Africa, the UK and the U.S., and a couple from Australia, have huddled to piece together one of the rarest of art forms in Seoul: English-language theater.
“I love the freedom in Korea,” says director Liam Mitchinson. “In Australia, you’re expected to get married and buy a house; you don’t spend your life doing plays in a basement.” The basement is in Phillies -- a hamburger and beer joint that is a meticulous recreation of Americana, minus the Korean baseball on the big screen TV and British play in the works downstairs.
The play is Ben Elton’s “Silly Cow” about a celebrity gossip columnist, Doris Wallace, who has amassed fame and fortune by mercilessly ridiculing British stage performers. Written in the early 90s, the piece has dated references to the likes of Kylie Minogue and modems, but also a lot of timeless laughs, especially if you like your humor medium raunchy with and extra “u” on the right side.
Mitchinson has directed plays at the Melbourne Comedy and Fringe festivals and said the Seoul Players selection committee chose this saucy comedy precisely because that’s what it is and since it gives their actors a chance to show tremendous range. The cast are all full-time teachers or students who have volunteered to rehearse and build this performance out of a love for the stage.
Desiree Munro plays Doris. In real life she’s a student of Korean and the wife of the director. The two met as drama students in Australia, did a stint as teachers in Incheon in 2005 and returned to Seoul this year to be closer to the theater scene here. Her response when asked what she enjoys about studying in Korea: “Every day I have to learn something new. It keeps my brain alive.” This role appeals to her because she can play a real self-absorbed, politically incorrect character that shows much more spunk and – one must assume – more cleavage than any of the saccharine parts she usually landed in Australia.
Faster Internet access and a lot fewer bills than in America keep Lance Noe happy in Korea. When he’s not preparing to play Doris’s aged accountant, Douglas, he teaches Korean public school English teachers how to use drama techniques in class. “This is useless; it won’t be on the test,” he exclaims, mimicking his score-obsessed students.
Angel Campey plays Doris’s mousy personal assistant Peggy. “I love-hated my first job in Korea,” she remembers. Her modeling agent in South Africa put her in touch with a school in Nowon run by a Polish man married to a Korean woman. The school filmed kids performing in English in front of a green screen. “I loved the kids and the work but hated not getting paid.” She was amazed at how quickly the students could recite an entire play by heart but have no clue how to emote it. “They don’t have time to learn their bodies. Everything is results driven.”
The two other cast members, Gef Somervell from the UK, who plays sleazy agent Sid, and Canadian Keith Power, who is Doris’s testosterone- and coke-driven toyboy Eduardo, also teach English using acting methods in class. These drama grad/struggling actor/English teachers all have something else in common: They agree that getting Korean students to improvise is one of the hardest things to do since they tend to mimic each other. Janett Kim, the 18-yr-old Korean stage manager explains, “For Western kids improv in class is a fun thing, but for Koreans it’s so much pressure. They worry that if they do something stupid the others will always remember and make fun of that.” She is heading to Boston University for a BFA in stage management and is very excited to get this hands-on experience.
This ensemble’s respect for theater is much more than a desire to entertain strangers. It’s a deep appreciation for a proven craft; one that has subdued shyness and built the poise needed to secure opportunities that could have slipped by had they simply kept playing their original role in life.
Heavy on UK cultural references and accents, the play is perfect for anyone feeling repressed by American cultural imperialism. But there are also plenty of universal lines and facial expressions to entertain those outside the gravitational pull of the Commonwealth.
“Silly Cow” itself has a built-in defense mechanism. Its shockingly twisted plot gives pause to any amateur critic considering panning a performance. But more importantly, the slip of an accent or other minor criticisms one could find are far outweighed by what this director and cast have managed to pull off with such a tight space and budget. Besides, the relatively low 15,000 won admission gives it quite a big live-entertainment-in-Seoul bang for the buck.
The tight arrangement of chairs and bar stools takes intimate theater to a whole new level, but a 10-minute intermission comes halfway through the 100-minute performance; well before mass claustrophobia can sweep the audience. And by that time, everyone is in a good mood and sympathetic enough to make sure you can exit your row quickly for a cigarette or restroom break. The second act is faster paced and has more laughs, gratifyingly suspending the audiences’ belief that they are trapped in a center economy seat on a third-world airline. And, one benefit of seeing a performance in such a small venue, the air conditioning works well.
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