Language barriers can often create a problem when you want to see a theatrical performance in a foreign country, but that’s not the case in Seoul, Korea, which is the permanent home of the Nanta Theater , a non-verbal form of performance. This hybrid art combines traditional Korean folk art, known as “samul nori,” along with a Western style of performance. The stage is transformed into a gigantic kitchen, where cooks/performers appear and begin cooking meals for a wedding reception. Performing “samul nori,” they drum away using pots and pans and plates and knives, powering through a presentation that consists of drumming, acrobatics, and slapstick comedy.
Finding a hotel in Seoul might be easier than finding the location of the theater — some patrons noted that they had trouble — but it’s worth the effort. The theater is in the UNESCO Building in the Meyongdong area; if you do have trouble, all you need to do is ask for directions.
Some audience members may be asked to participate as well, pulled onto the stage for simple drumming. If you’re stage shy, then, you may want to sit towards the back of the theater. The show has grown so popular that the audience is comprised of seventy to eighty percent of travelers. Reservations in advance are advised.
The show lasts a little over an hour, performed with a great deal of energy. In fact, it takes so much energy that the show rotates between groups of actors that are color coded; for example, there’s a red team and a blue team.
Most people haven’t seen the original “samul nori,” which is a genre of percussive music. The word “samul” means four objects, while “nori” means play, and so “samul nori” is usually performed with four traditional Korean musical instruments, the Kkwaenggwari (a small gong), a Jing (a larger gong), a Janggu (an hourglass-shaped drum), and a Buk (a barrel drum, much like a bass drum). This type of performance began with “nong-ak” or “farmer’s music,” which combines music with folk dance, acrobatics, and rituals, performed in rice farming villages to ensure a good harvest.
To see the updated version, explore a production of Nanta Theater Mondays through Fridays at four and eight p.m., and Saturdays, at one, four, and eight p.m., and on Sundays and Holidays from three p.m. to six in the afternoon.