Source: Dong-A Ilbo · 문화연예

What happened

According to Dong-A Ilbo, British director Nick Dudson told the paper in a written interview on October 6 that the neighborhood pub drives Choir of Man — a musical about nine men in a small drinking house. The Korean premiere opened September 18 at Noll Theater in Daehakro, Jongno-gu, Seoul. A bartender and eight male patrons sing 16 songs in a loud pub setting. Mid-show, audience members can climb on stage, drink beer or cocktails, and sing with the cast.

The breakdown

Dudson, who toured pubs for years as a musician, said pubs “play a similar role everywhere in the world” — sharing celebration and sorrow alike. The score packs 16 familiar hits into a cappella and choral arrangements, including Queen’s “Somebody to Love,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle,” and Sia’s “Chandelier.” Familiar songs were chosen because listeners already carry personal memories tied to them.

Dudson told Dong-A the logic runs through noise: “In a quiet place you can hide behind the music. Under a festive, boisterous atmosphere, sadness tends to surface more easily — and one person’s inner story becomes something all nine share.” The men discuss fathers, friends, and ex-partners — countering the stereotype of taciturn, rough men in pubs.

Choir of Man premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017, toured Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, then reached London’s West End, where Dong-A reports critics praised it for twisting conventional ideas of masculinity. Tom Brandom, overseas co-director, said he wanted to question traditional masculinity without preaching. “Everyone needs a space where they can say, ‘This is what I’m going through right now,’” he told Dong-A.

On whether Korean audiences used to soju at pojangmacha will connect, Brandom cited shared values: eating and drinking together, meeting people, and prizing friendship and community. Ticket prices, run length, and closing dates are not reported.

Why it matters outside Korea

Dong-A frames Choir of Man as a West End–tested British import in Seoul’s university theater district — a marker for how interactive, audience-participation musicals travel into East Asia. Western expats will recognize the Fringe-to-West-End pedigree and arena-rock sing-along set list; the masculinity-and-grief theme fits a wider conversation about men’s mental health in communal spaces. Brandom explicitly links Korea’s group-table drinking culture to the pub’s social function.

What travelers and expats should watch

• Venue: Noll Theater, Daehakro, Jongno-gu — central Seoul’s small-theater row, not a Gangnam mega hall. The run began September 18; Dong-A publishes no closing date, ticket link, or price — check the venue before planning.
• Participation format: Mid-show on-stage drinking and singing with the cast is built in. If you want a fixed fourth wall, pick another show; if you want pub-night energy inside a theater, this is the draw.
• Language: Expect English-language hit songs in choral arrangement. Dong-A does not confirm Korean supertitles — verify accessibility if your Korean is limited.

Context

Read this as a West End pub musical testing whether Korean audiences will join a loud, participatory grief-and-brotherhood sing-along in Daehakro, not as a standard jukebox revue, a British pub tourism guide, or confirmation of a nationwide tour. The operational story is 16 cover songs, on-stage audience drinking, and directors framing the pub as a place where performed toughness gives way to shared feeling.

Source

Dong-A Ilbo · 문화연예: “시끌벅적 펍이라야 슬픔을 털어놓죠…거친 남자들도 말이에요” — Korean original; premiere date, venue, song list, participation format, Fringe and West End history, and Nick Dudson and Tom Brandom quotes from Dong-A; paraphrased for briefing; read the original for photos and full Korean text.