The Arts in Wollongong – From the Grass Roots Up

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From Wednesday 13th of May to Saturday the 16th May the first year students of the Wollongong University performed Finding Love a play based on Traditional Korean Arirang.

Arirang, which according to Korean born Director Young Hee Park is; “Korean traditional folk song… even a three or four old four year old kid, if you ask them do you know Arirang, they will say yeah… It’s kind of like Korea’s theme song.”

Young chose the Mirang Arirang, the story of Ahrang, thought to be one of the original Arirang, as she wanted to start her young pupils on something “simple”.

As the name Finding Love would imply the play is about the quest for love, “our whole life, at least for me, is about finding true love, about finding the one,” said Young.

The play has two intertwined story lines, there is the Traditional story of Ahrang and the contemporary elements, to show love in our current situation. This works as obviously not all Australian’s can  relate to traditional Korean Theatre and I doubt that any modern Australian woman has cut off their left breast to remain pure.

The story of Ahrang is a haunting tale of love, loss, betrayal, pain and suffering. Defilled by an ignored suitor she cuts off her left breast to remain pure, but in the struggle that ensues with the deffiler she is killed, having her throat slit by the same knife she tryed to use to protect her chastity.

Even seperated by the world of the living and the dead the Ghost of Ahrang refuses to abandon her lover. The story

Images by Derek Kreckler

from her death to the end of the play is all about her trying to re-unite with him and the tragic failure of this quest.

Yet while this tragic tale of love and loss is being played out, there is the parallel contempory scenes, where there are nightclubs, sperm dancers, a breaking up couple, silly boys making undisguised references to internet phenomenon’s, an

elderly hard of hearing couple, a mousey red head and a guitarist. All these wonderful characters examples of love in our current world and some of them a reminder that love isn’t always kind.

The silly boys fight the Guitarist, the girlfriend of the breaking up couple catches her boyfriend having an affair and yet there is also the reminder of the continuity of love in the elderly couple.

Finding Love is a brilliant story well performed and well acted. Finding Love was a great place to start for theatre in Illawarra, the students of the uni being the next generation of actors.

Images by Derek Kreckler