What Will Israel’s version of “Nanta” Show to Us?

Israel’s non-verbal performance will be put on the Korean stage for the first time.

Through “Mayumana,” to be on the Grand Theater of Sejong Center on October 14, you can appreciate percussion of youngsters of Tel Aviv, Israel. “Mayumana” comes from a Hebrew word meaning versatile.

This performance, which was first staged in 1996, is very like non-verbal performance “Stomp.” These performances both are percussion using objects easily found in daily life, such as plastic bottles. Moreover, “Stomp” was favorably commented on at home and “Mayumana” was staged around the world more than 800 times, including in Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands.

However, “Mayumana,” which consists of dancers and mimes, is somewhat different from “Stomp” in that it contains folk dance, hip-hop and comedy mimicking Charlie Chaplin. Performers create a variety of sounds using many buckets with different amount of water, PVC pipes, plastic webs used in swimming pool and so on.

Eylón Napa, producer of “Mayumana” said, “This performance expresses human beings in agony while enjoying freedom in lingua franca – various kinds of dances including Jazz, ballet and tap and live music including techno rock.”

The performance will continue through October 20, Weekdays at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 3:00 and 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Admission fees: 30,000-60,000 won. Tel. 02-399-5888.

Tae-Hun Hwang beetlez@donga.com