The show is 15 minutes away from starting, and the actors noisily enter the stage. They were selling taffy worth 4,000 won a piece. In an era where cash is rarely used, the audience in the seats surrounding the circular stage of the National Theater of Korea Sky Theater pulled out fistfuls of cash from somewhere and started buying and eating the taffy and ate it right away.

Before I knew it, the main performance began. The actors brought out a table of Gosa, a ritual to celebrate a new venture and the like, with a pig's head on it. The actors bowed and the audience also bowed. Some people ate during the performance, some went to the restroom, and some came in late. It wasn't chaotic. That’s because actors on stage were dancing, singing, and entertaining enough to keep the atmosphere lively.

There's no “corpse theater,” which refers to a term used in musicals, plays, etc., to describe an overly rigid viewing experience. Toward the end of the performance, the dancing actors grab the audience's hands. If you want to dance, whether it's a dad dancing or a shoulder shimmy, you can. You can also take pictures with your favorite actors and get their autographs. This is also known as the curtain call, in which the audience storms the stage. There's no boundary between the stage and the audience, and no distinction between before and after the show. If you're an introvert, you might want to avoid the first row. This is because they become the 'focus target' of the actors.

At the press conference for the “Assorted Madangnori” last month, director Son Jin-chaek reminded the audience that theater is a play, an activity done for fun, and said, “The audience only needs to come with an open mind. There is no need for any prior preparation.” Yoon Moon-sik, a veteran actor of Madangnori, participatory folk theater, said, “In the yard, we burned the umbilical cord, fell in love, got married, and carried a funeral bier. The yard is “right here and now.” If I'm being cheeky, I'd say that the best Korean play culture is Madangnori.”

“Assorted Madangnori” is a “comprehensive gift set” of representative works of Madangnori presented by the National Theater of Korea, including “Simcheong is Coming”, “Chunhyang is coming” and “Nolbo is coming.” When Lee Mong-ryong and Sung Chun-hyang are about to spend their first night together, the cane-wielding Sim Bong-sa interrupts them, and the grumpy Nolbo's feast is interrupted by the appearance of Lee Mong-ryong who places first on the state exam and he punishes Nolbo.

First presented in 1981 as part of MBC's 20th anniversary program, Madangnori was so popular that audiences lined up from the Culture and Sports Center to Jeongdong-gil. Because it encouraged active participation from the audience, it was also characterized as an 'immersive performance' that has become popular these days. After ending its 30th anniversary performance in 2010, Madangnori was revived at the National Theater of Korea in 2014 and became a repertoire for the year-end and New Year holidays. This production marks the 10th anniversary of Madangnori at the National Theater, and the first performance in four years since 2020's “Chunpung is Coming.”

In particular, Yoon Moon-sik (81), Kim Jong-yeop (77), and Kim Seong-nyeo (74), the original stars of Madangnori, will make special appearances as Sim Bongsa, Nolbo, and Ppaengdeog, respectively. Kim Jong-yup performed in a wheelchair after a car accident and got married on the stage of Madangnori in 1984. Yoon Moon-sik drowned his sorrows at the Madangnori stage after the death of his wife. In Madangnori for the first time in 14 years, the veteran playersin Madangnori will perform 54 long-term performances as a “one cast. In addition, Kim Jun-su, Yoo Taepyeong, Lee So-yeon, and other actors of the National Changgeuk Company of Korea will play the main roles.

While based on the classics, Madangnori is also characterized by its ability to reflect the times. In this performance, Yoon Moon-sik will sing a section from Rose's “Apartment.” The day after the state of emergency martial law was lifted, the performance began with the greeting, “Did you have a peaceful night?” “How can you sing when the country is like this?” one of the actors asked, to which he replied, “In this situation, the louder we sing, the better.” When Sim Bong-sais looking for a wet nurse for Sim Chong, he laments that it is difficult to get milk due to the low birthrate. However, a female audience member was offended by the scene in which she was asked to be a wet nurse and protested after the performance, and the production team revised the scene.

“The characteristic of Korean traditional music is the combined harmony of Gamuak (song, dance, and instrumental music), and its representative is Madangnori,” said Park Bum-hoon, a composer who was part of the original production team along with Son Jin-chak. ”Madangnori music is not a sound to be heard, but a sound to be seen.” “Unlike the proscenium stage, which uses only one side of the audience, Madangnori should be a dance that is understood by the four sides of the audience,” said choreographer Kook Soo-ho.

Yoon Moon-sik jokingly explained the characteristics of Madangnori. “I'm from Chungcheong Province, and I really struggled at first when I went to a performance in Daejeon. The audience said, “You guys play; I'll watch.” No matter how funny it was, he didn’t laugh; he probably laughed when he went home. That broke in three years.” Theater culture develops and rises only when it mingles with the audience.

“Assorted Madangnori” will run until January 30, 2025.