Korean `Cats to Revive London Originality
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
How will T.S. Eliot's poems sound when translated into Korean and put to music? Featuring ``Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' and other poems by Eliot, the musical ``Cats'' will be reborn as a Korean production in September. It is the first licensed local production in Korea.
Seol & Company, one of the major musical production companies in Korea, will put on the London-based hit musical in Korean supported by the London creative team.
Also, the London touring performance will give encore shows from May 30-Aug. 31 just before the Korean production is put on stage from September to January next year.
``It is a bold and brave move to bring two productions on stage back to back. … We are confident of getting it together with very good quality,'' Tim McFarlane, head of the Really Useful Company (RUC), told reporters in a press conference last week.
Seol Do-yoon, president of Seol & Company, said that the company is considering offering Japanese and English subtitles to help foreign tourists, especially Japanese visitors, better understand the show.
``The right translation is very important when we adapt foreign productions into Korean because the Korean language and other languages are seriously different, especially in a musical that has poetic lyrics. So the main focus of the Korean rendition is to follow the original feeling of the lyrics. So we are going to use the simple English words such as `memory' or `midnight' in lyrics without translating them into Korean,'' said Seol.
Seol also showed confidence in the quality of the Korean production, stressing that it will be hard to distinguish the two productions in terms of quality and capability of Korean performers, except for the language.
McFarlane said that the Korean production will be closer to the original direction and feeling of the London production that Joanne Robinson, director and choreographer of the London original production, was involved in.
Robinson has taken over the post since ``Cats'' was first put on stage in London. She said that she is reading books related to Korean culture and society because she thinks that to make the local rendition, it is important to reflect the culture and society of the country because the characters of ``Cats'' reflect diverse levels of characters in society.
The Korean production company and the London creative team will finalize selecting Korean actors and actresses by the end of April.
Robinson, who is currently holding auditions, said she was surprised at the talent and potential of about 1,000 Korean applicants.
Asked about the concerns of the musical's frequent performances in Seoul which might lead to the failure of drawing audiences, Seol dismissed any possibility of failure, saying that every time the musical has been put on stage, a large number of Koreans came to the show.
``It is a `proven' work that tens of millions of people have seen worldwide. Although both the Korean version and the London team's performance will run for quite a long period ― about six months, I am confident of its success,'' said Seol.
The feline fantasy has been performed around the world in numerous productions and has been translated into more than 20 languages.
The musical premiered in London's West End in 1981. Since then, it has attracted about 65 million people worldwide. For the London team's tour performances last year, about 570,000 Korean people went to the show.
The London team's ``Cats'' will be at the Charlotte Theater in southern Seoul from May 30 to Aug. 31. The Korean rendition will follow the show from mid-September to the end of January at the same venue.
The Korean version is produced by Seol & Company and sponsored by CJ Entertainment, Charlotte Theater and the RUG.
For more information, call (02) 501-7888 or visit www.musicalcats.co.kr.