Press
Macbeth Reviews
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"it is most successful in its ability to evoke the viral paranoia and apocalyptic tone of ghastly contemporary cinema. It does so using dense recorded soundscapes and group performance pieces with sexual and sadistic overtones".
"There are no witches here, only a malevolent group force with many body parts, speaking with many voices and various intentions, none of them pure. This force physically injects evil into Macbeth and swarms all around his hellspawn wife like devil-gnats".
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"I get the sense from past work that Kim — a director to watch — isn't especially interested in traditional linear narrative. I also get the sense that this Macbeth might have been more fully realized without all those words getting in the way".
By Chris Davis
Memphis Flyer
Comfort Reviews
Written & Directed by Jung Han Kim
World Premier @ Lincoln Center 2015
" Comfort deals with the horrific acts of violence towards “Comfort Women” or “sex slaves” by the Japanese during World War II. The Japanese government would kidnap young girls as young as 14 years old from various countries including China and Korea and send them to their soldiers in the battlefield to “comfort” them. Details from some survivors attest to being raped fifty to two hundred times a day. But, more so, the play dares to bring forth the difficult subject of sex trafficking and physical abuse of women world-wide. The current political issues around this topic are expressed through movement and straight dialogue. In the play, the leading character “Peter” must produce a documentary film about Comfort Women, but his boss disagrees with Peter’s chosen subject matter. In the meantime, Peter meets “Roksun”, a comfort woman, in his dream. With a great mix between experimental movement & poetry about serious political matter the play presents an important subject in a palpable artistic way".
-Theatre Piazzazz.com
-http://www.theaterpizzazz.com/comfort-women-uncomfortable-topic/
Other Links about Comfort -
http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2014/07/abuse_of_women_is_subject_matt.html
Perfection Reviews
Written & Directed by Jung Han Kim
World Premier @ Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2014
Hungry People Theatre bring a powerful one man show to Edinburgh Fringe with Perfection, a raw performance that questions everything. Writer and director Jung Han Kim plays guitar, sings, and welcomes people as they enter, creating a relaxed atmosphere with which to start the piece. The choice to base the performance in a small room, where the audience is close to the performer, is inspired and creates real sense of intimacy.
Jon Castro's portrayal of the man with only 6 months to live is immense. His energy is incredible from beginning to end, and he engages brilliantly with the audience, pulling them into his world. His spinning against the wall trying to find the answers to love makes for a bizarre and yet powerful opening sequence. The performance soars from there as he journeys through varying emotions, portraying what goes on inside a person's head when they face their own mortality. There is humour intercut within it, especially while writing words on the wall behind him. The decision to leave each word unfinished is a nice touch, indicating the imperfection in everything and the belief that he himself is not yet finished.
Castro jumps from question to question, emotion to emotion with ease, not for a second feeling contrived. There are a lot of topics covered, such as love, forgiveness, faith and fear, yet it is done is such a way that, even at quite a frantic pace, the ideas are still coherent and relatable. Even as he discusses God, it is relatable to believers and non-believers, questioning this being, hating him even, yet needing something to believe in.
Perfection is utterly engaging, moving, and leaves the audience with strong imagery to take away with them. The play showcases excellent work from Kim and Castro, who both have strong careers ahead of them, if they maintain this standard of performance. With their profits going directly to charity to feed the hungry – hence the company name – they prove to have even more heart than is portrayed on stage.
- REVIEW BY Christin Lawler THE SKINNY MAGAZINE UK
http://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/edinburgh_festivals_2014/308849-perfection_c_nova
Another review from Julia Pascal
"Jung Han Kim’s monologue performed by Jon Castro in one room with only a wall as décor, is a stunning exploration of huge philosophical debates in a hugely ironic and theatrical manner. The work has echoes of Georges Perec and James Joyce. Castro is an energetic and engaging performer and this short work deserves a wide audience. It is stimulating, theatrical and utterly unpretentious".
Julia Pascal © 2014.
http://londongrip.co.uk/2014/08/perfection-hungry-people-c-nova-julia-pascal/