PUBLISHED June 19th, 2017 05:00 am | UPDATED July 25th, 2024 02:58 pm
At a time where Korean pop music, dramas, food, and fashion continues to captivate fans around the regions, a relatively novel type of performance seeks to perpetuate the Hallyu wave: language-agnostic comedic live theatre.
Such is the bread and butter of South Korean director Choi Chul Ki, who’s been hailed as the pioneer of ‘eat-ertainment’ – an experimental genre of comedy performance that packs beatboxing, b-boying, madcap antics, and of course, gastronomy into an electrifying extravaganza. He’s the name behind the widely-acclaimed Nanta (which premiered in 1997), BIBAP, and Jump, all of which have since toured around the world to a rapturous reception.
Now, two decades after the original show comes CHEF: Bibimbap vs Chilli Crab, the first ever musical collaboration between Korean and Singapore. Collaborative, how? For one, the chilli crab is arguably Singapore’s one unique national dish (move aside, chicken rice). It’s also the only such Korean production to cast not just one, but two Singaporeans: actresses Hayley and Jayley Woo, who are basically your local variant of the Olsen twins.
With the Resorts World Theatre’s stage transformed into a massive futuristic kitchen, CHEF pits two teams of chefs against each other as they whip up popular mouth-watering delicacies (unlike Nanta, most of the food presented are plastic) with exaggerated comic brio. The Red and Green master chefs (Yu Seonghyun and Woo Youngwook) are locked in a riotous competition to becoming the top chef, as they command a team of junior chefs with individual specialities – or rather, archetypes.
There’s the seductive alto Sexy Chef (Ko Eunhee), the bumbling novice Rookie Chef (Yang Donghyun), the musclehead Iron Chef (Choi Junggil) and the bubbly Cutie Chef (a role shared by the Woo twins, who will take turns to perform on stage). While the team goes about their antics, two other chefs – MC Chef (Wii Daehan) and Rhythm Chef (Park Seongjun) – spend less time ‘cooking’ (if at all) than they do dishing out exacting beats and hilarious sound effects to fuel the show. And their skills are the real deal, providing the much-needed base (pun intended) that makes the show work.
Split into five parts, we see the set changing multiple times as customers (the audience) select their orders, from sushi – a vivid deep blue ocean with brilliantly choreographed fishes and jellyfish – to another where an al fresco diner is set up as the chefs belts out operatic arias to the tune of pizza. The last order of bibimbap (Korean mixed rice with meat and vegetables) and chilli crab, is where things get the most hyped, as the Red Chef cooks chilli crab with the harmony of music (listen out for the duet between the Cutie Chef and Sexy Chef) while then Green Chef uses the power of martial arts to craft his bibimbap.
As expected in any such Korean stage production, theatregoers will have the opportunity to head up on stage and be part of the unfolding story, as well as decide who the ultimate winner between the rivalling head chefs is. It’s also great how each session sees a different winner and turn of events, which adds a bit of spontaneity to the already exhilarating theatrics.
When the finale arrives, the chefs dump their slapstick humour and kitchen garb as they take turns to show off their skills (and in certain instances, fantastic abs), including an exciting beatbox rendition of Michael Jackson’s Thriller and PSY’s Gangnam Style, as well as some literal head-spinning breakdancing from the Rookie and Iron Chefs. It turns out that both head chefs have more expertise than just barking at each other too, as they display some spectacular martial arts chops.
Along with a smattering of Mandarin and local dialect (“chio bu”), the local take on an otherwise very international production makes for a very refreshing piece of theatre. For all its upfront and in-your-face humour, there’s no need to do any thinking, only enjoying. Plus, CHEF: Bibimbap vs Chilli Crab is produced exclusively for Resorts World Sentosa, so if anything else, embrace your inner-kiasuness and catch this one-of-a-kind production before the run ends. After all, it is about food and we all know how much food means to us.
CHEF: Bibimbap vs Chilli Crab is running from now to 22 July 2017, 8pm on select nights and 2pm on weekends, at Resorts World Theatre. Tickets are priced at $38, $48, $78, $98, and $118, available via SISTIC or directly from the venue.
Interested in more of this? Check out our piece on the Rise of K-Performance in Seoul.