EdFringe Review: Welcome to my Room

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Yeena Sung’s brings a journey of self-exploration to the Fringe. Her unique perspective as a ‘Korean Korean’ born in Korea, but raised in the USA has made her a fish out of all waters. Negotiating life as a woman only complicates matters. Any Irish folks in the room may find themselves sympathising with Yeena’s struggle to have others pronounce her name correctly.

A show based on such intimate, complex matters could easily descend into an hour of tired navel-gazing. Fortunately, Sung quickly proves a charismatic host on this gentle rollercoaster ride through her life. Through a blend of live-mixed music, animation, song, and spoken word she introduces herself, and the findings of her self-investigation to date.

Goldfish are very much the motif of the show, specifically their captivity along with the common misperception of their memory capacity. Yeena, too, feels observed on all sides, and similarly misunderstood. The small room at Greenside George Street has been decorated with mementoes plus a few props, which are folded into Yeena’s telling.

There’s a lot of unpacking in ‘Welcome to My Room’, but this multimedia experience shows as much as tells. Sounds of ‘home’ and a touch of physical theatre help to drive home Yeena’s feelings of alienation and belonging. Given it’s an ongoing process of self-discovery the show’s lack of a truly satisfactory ending is to be expected. However a little dead air at the end aside, this is a charming and very human production,

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