Probationary Theatre tackles nutrition

The poster for Probationary Theatre’s production of “Nourish” By John Redmond Recent newcomer expat theater group Probationary Theatre will stage a homegrown show entitled “Nourish” at the RUF Project in Noksapyeong, Seoul. It will be a one-time show performed in English on Dec. 19 starting at 7:30 p.m. Inspired by, and with excerpts from, the controversial documentary “Food Matters,” the play aims to educate and empower people to make healthier and informed decisions in everyday lives, with the use of comedy, theatre, stand up and film. The writer warns of the overeating, not getting enough sleep, excessive drinking and the subsequent hangovers of the festive season begin and reminds people to treat the mind and body to some well needed creative TLC. “Learn about what comfort food your body wants, as opposed to what we’ve been conditioned to want … Did you know that celery is an aphrodisiac?” Probationary Theatre was founded in Australia in 2000 with the aim of creating interesting and accessible theatre that people want to see. Probationary Theatre’s first production of David Mamet’s “Sexual Perversity in Chicago” opened at the Melbourne Fringe Festival to packed houses with rave reviews, receiving a best Newcomer award. Since then, Probationary Theatre has produced a variety of shows and toured to various parts of Australia, receiving several awards, before moving its base to the freshly blossoming theater community in Seoul, Korea. Probationary Theatre’s first production in Seoul was the “Summer Shorts Show” ― a one night only event of five short theatre pieces encompassing everything from straight theater, bent theater, mime, music, dance and shadow puppetry. Founder, Desiree Munro, spoke to The Korea Times about where the idea behind “Nourish” came about. “In August this year I attended a screening of the controversial documentary ‘Food Matters’ at Suji’s restaurant in Seoul. It was organized by the team at ‘Healthy Homes Asia’ and I was really impressed with the message, which inspired me to create this piece of theater,” Munro said. What is the message? “I think it’s basically about being aware and informed about exactly what you’re putting into your body, and not just blindly putting faith in the pharmaceutical and food industries.” When asked about what to expect from “Nourish” Munro drew on the broad scope of the piece. “A bit of everything! It’s informative but the delivery of information is quite light. I find that comedy and light entertainment seem to be the best method of delivering messages that are sometimes not that easy to swallow, and so the show is quite light-hearted. There’s comedy in the form of stand up, theatre and film as well as excerpts from various documentaries, and even some recipe ideas.” What’s Probationary Theatre’s aim with producing “Nourish?” “After our show last month ‘10 good reasons not to go home’ someone told me ‘my friends and I spent the rest of your night just talking about the show’ ― which to me was a great sign. I think all good theatre should provoke discussion. I want to entertain, but also get people thinking and perhaps inspire them to research further. I hope ‘Nourish’ can inspire the audience to be more mindful of what we put into our body every day.” What’s next for Probationary Theatre? “The year 2011 will be a busy year for us, we’ll be staging a production of the Tony Award Winning play, ‘Art’ performed in English with Korean subtitles, and we’ll also be holding a one day workshop called ‘play in a day’ where actors, writers and directors will all be locked in a theatre and have 12 hours to write and rehearse a play to an audience in the evening. We’re always looking for new ideas and new talent, and welcome anyone to email us any ideas or projects they’d like to put on or be involved in, or better still, just come and have a chat to us after the show.” The RUF Project is a 15 minute walk from exit 1 of Noksapyeong Station (line 6). Take the underpass to cross the main road and take a right at the Lazy Sue cafe and the army base. Walk up the hill towards Namsan Park for 10 minutes until you come to the Rainbow Children Center on your left. Take a right and walk up the hill, then take the first right. RUF project will be 50 meters away on your right. Tickets are 15,000 won and bookings can be made by simply emailing your name and the number of tickets you require to probationarytheatre@gmail.com Further information available at www.probationarytheatre.com Pig-like extraterr.. Indian sorcerer sa.. Air skirmish might..