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 ZENOBIA FROST reviews the junk-bar wonderland that is 지하 UNDERGROUND.
The Metro Arts Basement is a sadly underused venue. Many Brisbanites, I imagine, don’t even know it exists – but even for those do, entering the 지하 Underground junk bar feels like falling down the rabbit hole. The space is so transformed, it’s unrecognisable: the narrow hallway is crammed with bric-a-brac and glowing lamps, and a beach umbrella shades half-finished bottles of beer from an imaginary sun. There is a sense that something magical is about to happen.
지하 Underground is directed by Jeremy Neideck, who has “spent his adult life caught between Korea and Australia.” This show is his homage to the colourful characters he has befriended and the curious – often underground – spaces he has found them in. McK McKeague’s set design is completely immersive. Inside the venue proper, the walls are lined with newspaper and pin-ups. A whale constructed from a collage of erotica, with a fan for a tail, swims above us. We are ushered to comfy, dilapidated couches and offered drinks and snacks; it feels as if this well-loved, rather kitsch bar (complete with inflatable palm trees) has been here forever.
The show begins in such a way that you don’t realise it, with our host (Hoyoung Tak) offering the mic to any brave customers. We have only to look at the blackboard: “Happy Hour” has just passed, and now it is “Singing Time,” with Story Time, MYSTERY, a Floor Show and Party Time to follow. With no volunteers, the performers take the stage. But we are too polite – too quiet – an audience! The talented Younghee Park teaches us Korean words designed for shouting encouragement at gigs. We each latch onto a word as Park plays traditional Korean drums. The cast, camouflaged amongst us, emerges with a motley crew of instruments. And it sounds fantastic.
The success of 지하 Underground lies in the paradox of its carefully rehearsed spontaneity. To the audience, it looks like these ragtag bar staff-cum-musicians improvise something new every night for a few loyal barflies. In reality, it’s a choreographed craziness. With just the right amount of humour and self-conscious kitsch, our evening follows a love story that crosses oceans, along with the great divides of both language and gender. It’s hard to pick a standout performer: Neideck (as the Coconut Princess) and Park (playing Cheolsu) are a great pair, while Nathan Stoneham adds glamour and glitter. Thom Browning ably provides both a soundtrack and running translations.
Unless you like your theatre cut and dry – and safe – it’s hard to find fault with 지하 Underground. The show itself runs for only an hour, but time passes strangely – as if, perhaps, the bar’s staff are caught in a perpetual loop. It’s very easy indeed to get caught up in, and by the time the Watermelon Party finale (yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like) rolls around, you’ll be sad to leave Neideck’s colourful friends and lovers. But don’t worry – they’ll remember what your poison is if you return.
지하 UNDERGROUND runs until Saturday Nov 26 in The Basement, Metro Arts. Ph: 3002 7100 / www.metroarts.com.au
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