Written and Directed by By Robbie Gordon, Jack Nurse and Yoon Junghwan

Review by Dominic Corr

Main Hall at Summerhall

There are certain things you grow to appreciate when you get older. Things you took for granted, or even detested as a kid. One of the chief ones; is a night within your community. Whatever that looked like. With a drink, a song, and company. It’s time to put those mandated ceilidh lessons from high school to use; grab a partner, and join Scotland’s Wonder Fools and South Korea’s Theatre SAN in the sublime, gravitational and cross-cultural triumph with Tether 인연.

From the entrance into the Main Hall space at Summerhall, the room reverberates with genuine warmth. The ensemble instantly dissolves the traditional barriers between stage and spectator, inviting us into a lively, communal gathering that sets the stage for an extraordinary evening. Brush up on your Gay Gordons or allow the company to introduce you into new mediums of song and movement before a spotlight, a few stools, and some of the festival’s best live music whisk you through time, space, and emotions.

At the absolute heart of Robbie Gordon, Jack Nurse, and Yoon Junghwan’s production sits a central performance of Dae Han, Hyeon-kyu Choi’s breathtaking sincerity and emotional acuity enrapture from the off; language is no barrier here. Both in the literal, with supertitles, and in the expression and connection they have with the audience. Guiding the audience across three interconnected timelines – spanning early 20th-century Glasgow, the devastation of the Korean War, and the reflective quiet of the 1970s – the lead performances from Choi, Molly Bryson, Isabella Jarrett and Mi-soo Kim provides the stories’ emotional anchor.

Navigating the delicate space between fierce independence and quiet heartbreak with masterly grace, the ensemble captures the profound grief of separation alongside the stubborn resilience of love. Hyeon-kyu Choi has a chemistry with Bryson and Jarrett that carries over the romantic elements with ease, as Dae Han, a young student who comes to Scotland to continue their education and finds the one thing Scotland and Joseon (Korea) share; music. Supported by Naomi Stirrat, Jun-Woo Hwang and Martin Donaghy, the narrative watches memory, nostalgia, and personal history refract through such an authentic, deeply grounded performance gives the production its magnetic soul.

What elevates this piece is its physical and acoustic intimacy. The staging maintains an exquisite closeness, allowing quiet, tender exchanges to breathe. When spoken dialogue yields to the unspoken, the show’s live musical landscape takes complete command. Stuart Ramage’s live music is nothing short of magnificent – an organic fusion of traditional Scottish folk and Korean sonic traditions where plucked strings intertwine seamlessly with lyrical Celtic melodies.

If the production stumbles slightly, it is only in the sheer density of a Fringe setting. Navigating three jumping eras alongside projected subtitles can occasionally pull focus from the physical action on stage, creating minor friction during denser narrative transitions. If there is to be a further life for Tether, it would likely lift to new, deserving, heights.

Yet, these are minor quibbles in an otherwise deeply evocative and smartly executed celebration of human connection. Brimming with humanity and live musical beauty, Tether 인연. remains a deeply moving, beautifully poetic piece of theatre that will leave you begging for a jig, and longing for those no-longer here.  

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