Wild Goose Dreams or 'Penguins, police and pop-ups.'

Wild Goose Dreams, Hansol Jung
Ustinov, 27 November 2019
Written for The Guardian

The internet is so fully realised in this production that even a dialling tone has personality (watch it angrily slope off the stage). As two lonely folks navigate life in modern-day Seoul, and look for love on the internet, a small chorus of actors chirp, sing and dance around them. How to cut through the noise and hold on to what is real? Should we focus on what’s in front of us, or a family far away? All these questions flit restlessly through Hansol Jung’s thoughtful and funny play, brought to life with flair by Michael Boyd.

Three composers are credited in this production, which gives you some idea of just how noisy it is. Loneliness can be awfully loud. Guk Minsung (London Kim) is the wild goose of the title, a nickname given to South Korean fathers who migrate only rarely to their distant family (Guk’s live in America). When Guk talks to his near-estranged wife, he stands on a silent and spotlit stage. North Korean defector Yoo Nanhee (Chuja Seo) is haunted by her father (played with charming whimsy by Rick Kiesewetter) who hovers around the edges of the stage, as Guk and Yoo – both adrift from their family – turn towards each other.

Dark shadows loom and soldiers lurk, as North Korea’s threatening presence seeps in. Yet Jung’s writing is at its most powerful when it stays light. London Kim and Chuja Seo have a lovely easy way with each other. When they’re together, even the gloomy hallucinations turn silly (a penguin pops up through the toilet). There’s a silliness and simplicity about their relationship that rings true. They lie in bed talking, switch off the lights and are finally seen.