Orange Polar Bear

William and Jiyoung are fifteen, living invisible lives in chaotic cities on opposite sides of the world.

William is British. He lives with his mum, an immigrant who cleans up after other people who can't be bothered to do their own hoovering. She doesn't understand why people want to flee the country. William does. Jiyoung is South Korean, stuck with her dad and grandma in a fifteenth floor flat, and looking for her mother who left thirteen years ago.

When the two find themselves adrift in a mysterious space, floating like two polar bears on melting icebergs, they wonder if they'll ever make it back…

Co-written by award-winning playwrights Evan Placey and Sun-Duck Ko, this raw, funny and heartrending new play gives voice to a young generation trying to find their place in an overwhelming, fast-changing world.

In an exciting collaboration with one of the most prestigious contemporary theatre companies in South East Asia, the National Theater Company of Korea, Birmingham audiences have the chance to see exceptional Korean actors performing together with talented, emerging British artists. Performed in two languages, Orange Polar Bear features powerful visuals and sound design and inventive staging, with design by award-winning art director Yeo Shin Dong and original music by internationally renowned composer Yeong Gyu Jang (Train to Busan).

Performed in English and Korean

Creatives

Writers Sun-Duck Ko and Evan Placey
Director Peter Wynne-Willson 
Art Director & Designer Shin Dong Yeo
Lighting Designer Simon Bond
Costume Design Collaboration Nuri Na and Kay Wilton
Prop Designer Min Hee Kwon
Composer Yeong Gyu Jang
Sound Designer Seo Jin Lim
Movement Director Jun-Yung Lee
Video/Projection Artist Shin Dong Yeo and Byung Mok Jung
Director of Projection & Sound Kennikie Yun
Projection & Sound for the UK Seok-gi Kim
Dramaturg Tessa Walker
Assistant Director Saemi Moon
Producers Misun Kim and Judy Owen
Photography for NTCK poster image Kang-Hyuk Lee
Production, Rehearsal & Promotional Photography Sung-Yong Jang and Won-Gyun Jung (Studio Greenbee)
NTCK promotional image graphic design Workroom

Don't Miss

On Wednesday 7 November, there will be a symposium on Making Multi-Lingual Theatre. To find out more, click here. 

Find out more about National Theater Company of Korea by clicking here. Orange Polar Bear plays in Seoul from 11-21 October.
Find out more about Hanyong Theatre and follow the production blog by clicking here.