SWAG AGE

Gillian Lynne Theatre

★★★★

“fiery, defiant, emotionally charged”

‘Swag Age in Concert’ bursts onto the stage, pulsing with Korean “heung” – infectious, collective joy. Fusing Joseon-era tradition with streetwise swagger, this Korean language musical rewrites history with rhythm and rebellious energy – even if it feels a little lost in translation.

Welcome to a reimagined Joseon Dynasty, where peace comes at the price of silence. Sijo – the poetic soul of the nation – has been outlawed by the elites, leaving the people voiceless. Enter the masked Golbin Gang, rhythmic rebels spreading sijo in secret. That is, until they cross paths with the freewheeling Dan, a rule-breaking prodigy who helps start a cultural revolution. But hidden forces are at play. Will the gang free the people? Or will their swag prove no match for state supremacy?

Produced by Song Hye Sun with book, music and lyrics by Park Chan Min and Lee Jeong Yeon, this is a musical unlike any other on the West End. Blending traditional Korean aesthetics with modern storytelling, ‘Swag Age’ brings sijo to new audiences and a new era. You could argue the main story beats have been done before: persecuted peasants fight oppression thanks to a scrappy resistance group. But it comes stirringly to life through the beautiful songs, layered plot and flawed characters, keeping humanity and art at the centre of the power struggle. Though some things go over my head, such as the peasants’ sudden change of mood in the opening song, Jono’s allegiance to the elites despite his huge secret, and some bulky exposition in the climactic scene. Though this may be in the delivery rather than the writing.

Lee Kyung-soo’s direction makes fantastic use of contrasts. The peasant scenes burst with camaraderie through playful cast interactions, cheerful lighting and harmonious staging, highlighting their strength in unity; meanwhile the court scenes are sombre, static and separate, hinting at their hollow power. The cast jumping into the audience cements this, proving the Golbin Gang are for the people! Still, the tiny subtitles tucked at the stage’s edge demand constant attention; for non-Korean speakers, it’s more reading than absorbing at times, and plot-heavy scenes suffer. Thankfully, the vividly expressive music and cast fill in some of the blanks.

Lee Jeong Yeon’s music and lyrics are a masterful blend of traditional Korean music with modern day genres including hip-hop and rap. There is a familiar musical structure, showcasing chorus numbers, ‘I want’ songs, and a sweeping finale; yet traditional Korean instruments and sijo proudly show its cultural origin. The music is very clever, connecting periods of varying intensity (including some very funny moments) with ease and flair. Kim Eun Chong’s choreography blends seamless with this, again mixing modern styles such as hip hop, street and acrobatics. The lack of movement in the court scenes highlights how lifeless the regime is.

For a ‘concert’, this production is pretty much fully staged! The beautiful lighting design (Lee Woo Hyung) adds an artful layer of storytelling, including wide diagonal spots, calming greens, colour pops and fan shapes. I especially love the dramatic closes to a single diagonal spot – simple yet striking. The sumptuous hanbok-inspired costumes situate us historically while retaining a modern flair. The sound design (Kwon Do Kyung) maintains the energy and the minimalist set design keeps the focus on the action.

The cast is stunning. Their “heung” shines through with passion and panache, complemented by spectacular vocals and dancing. Lim Hyun Soo’s Hongguk is a particular highlight, with a rich baritone voice and magnetic stage presence both striving and sincere. Yang Hee Jun’s Dan transforms from cocky youth to commanding force with every note of his powerhouse tenor. Kim Soo Ha’s Jin balances fierceness with fallibility, her tender vocals soaring into a defiant belt, heightening the tension of her situation.

‘Swag Age in Concert’ is a musical and cultural experience worth catching if it graces London’s stages again. Non-Korean speaking audiences might miss out on its full gravity, but the energy and artistry more than deliver in this fiery, defiant, emotionally charged production.

SWAG AGE

Gillian Lynne Theatre

Reviewed on 8th September 2025

by Hannah Bothelton

Photography by PL Entertainment

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE LEHMAN TRILOGY | ★★★★★ | October 2024

STANDING AT THE SKY’S EDGE | ★★★★★ | February 2024

THE LEHMAN TRILOGY | ★★★★★ | February 2023

THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE | ★★★★★ | July 2022

CINDERELLA | ★★★★★ | August 2021

Swag Age

THE LEHMAN TRILOGY at the Gillian Lynne Theatre

★★★★★

“a towering study of human drives, frailties, venality and, yes, exuberance”

On September 15, 2008, something was stirring. I went to the window of my Canary Wharf office and peered down to see an ant trail of sacked Lehman Bros workers trooping from 25 Bank Street, carrying storage boxes full of BlackBerries, Rolodexes, picture frames and trophies.

Wall Street’s fourth largest investment bank had collapsed. The first domino had fallen. The credit crunch had arrived.

A few months later I looked out of another Docklands window to see, rather incongruously, President Barack Obama step out to join an emergency meeting of the G20 at Excel London. There, world leaders would devise a punishing solution that would bring about austerity, Brexit, and the rise of the populist right.

How did we get here? How did the bankers topple the world and walk away scot free?

Who are these people? What is their nature?

To answer that question, director Sam Mendes takes the long view and, in doing so, compiles a towering study of human drives, frailties, venality and, yes, exuberance. He also manages to capture, almost by accident, the story of money and the story of America. His touch is light and impeccable, and the results are truly astonishing.

In The Lehman Trilogy, Es Devlin’s stage design, a rotating cube, is monochromatic and stark, all glass and steel, with a screen backdrop that provides the sweeping epic with a suitable sense of cinematic grandeur.

Those bankers’ boxes too, now icons of the crisis, litter the stage, linking past and present. Boxes everywhere, stacked and restacked like a child’s toy blocks on the neatly revolving stage. Everything is kinetic, structured and measured with geometric precision.

Three actors – John Heffernan, Aaron Krohn and Howard W Overshown – initially play the Lehman brothers but eventually everyone else in this sprawling tale. They take us on a journey which starts with three penniless Jewish immigrants selling cloth in a small shop in Montgomery, Alabama in 1844, and ends in the high-rolling and blinkered C-suites of New York on that fateful September day.

From Bavaria to the boardroom, we come to understand how ambition slowly calcifies into greed which hardens further into self-serving indifference. But, remarkably, in this retelling, there is no judgement, no polemic, just acute observations of human foibles.

The three actors play the brothers and their families deftly and with relish. Heffernan is a phenomenon, a marvel, by turns twinkle-eyed and twitchy. Overshown is immense. Krohn’s succession of coquettish female suitors is a delight. For all its serious purpose, the play is a hoot.

The script, by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power has a journalistic hunger for story-telling, for the engaging hook, for gossip – and generations of Lehmans offer up more than their fair share of material, surviving fire, war, technology and the Great Depression and always, always making money.

What an immense achievement.

When the story of capitalism comes to be told as history, The Lehman Trilogy may well be a defining text, capturing all the dazzling allure and catastrophic folly of that very human endeavour.

The value of stocks may rise and fall – but this production? Pure gold. Buy! Buy! Buy!

Tag Archives: Gillian Lynne Theatre

SWAG AGE

★★★★

Gillian Lynne Theatre

SWAG AGE

Gillian Lynne Theatre

★★★★

“fiery, defiant, emotionally charged”