REVIEW: YOU & IT by Seoeun Oh and Q Lee at King’s Head Theatre 7 – 26 September 2026
‘technology may imagine the future, but its romance remains trapped in the past’ ★★★
You & It is a new musical from South Korea and the winner of Best Musical at the 13th Daegu International Musical Festival, one of Korea’s major platforms for new musicals. Its premise is immediately intriguing. After Mina dies in an accident, her grieving husband Gyujin rebuilds her as an AI. Beneath this contemporary idea sits a surprisingly old-fashioned book.
I once saw a reel joking that lovers in K-dramas never have sex and that their first kiss arrives 90 per cent of the way through the series, usually without tongues. The joke works because it recognises a familiar convention: romantic relationships are often sanitised. Before Mina’s death, she and Gyujin are a perfect couple. The opening number gives us an ideal marriage rather than a specific one, Mina dies before she has fully emerged as a person.
The AI version of Mina is not fundamentally different from the “perfect wife” presented at the beginning. Both versions exist primarily in relation to Gyujin’s desires. The book becomes a series of episodes illustrating his growing dissatisfaction, rather than asking why Mina, human or artificial, has been constructed around serving him.
The premise seems to invite questions about whether technology can reproduce humanity, but the question remains largely unexplored. Even the ending, in which Mina removes herself from Gyujin’s life, completes the patriarchal fantasy. Her final act is another service performed for him. The perfect wife proves her love through self-erasure.
This returns the musical to the tradition of shinpa. The word literally means “new school”, rather than “new wave”. The form originated in late 19th-century Japan and entered Korean theatre during Japan’s colonial ruling over Korea in early 20th century. In Korea, the term eventually became associated more broadly with highly emotional melodrama, often driven by suffering, impossible love and female sacrifice.
Technological imagery may make the story appear contemporary, but its idea of love remains rooted in the familiar spectacle of a woman suffering beautifully for a man. You & It reproduces that emotional machinery without interrogating the gender politics beneath it.
Nonetheless, this production has clearly been made with care. Lucy Park, appearing as Mina in place of Frances Mayli McCann at this performance, and Zachary Pang as Gyujin perform with warmth and commitment, while Esther Jun’s direction is assured. Most impressive is Adrienne Quartly’s sound design. The balance between the live musicians and the performers is exceptionally well judged. The involvement of English-language lyricist Ricky Allan, alongside dramaturg and additional lyricist Yojiro Ichikawa, also demonstrates an effort to adapt the Korean work for a British stage rather than simply transpose it.
But clarity of execution cannot supply the complexity missing from the writing. Music in a musical must do more than sound beautiful. Too often, the songs in You & It simply restate emotions we already understand.
Its technology may imagine the future, but its romance remains trapped in the past.
EG Musical Company & MCG Productions presents
YOU & IT by Seoeun Oh and Q Lee at King’s Head Theatre 7 – 26 September 2026
BOX OFFICE https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/you-and-it-cs41
Cast & Creatives
Cast
Frances Mayli McCann | Mina
Zachary Pang | Gyujin
Creative Team
Seoeun Oh | Original Writer
Q Lee | Original Writer, Lyrics and Composer
Esther Jun | Director
Yojiro Ichikawa | Associate Director
Bob Sterrett & Lu Herbert | Set Designer
Lu Herbet | Costume Designer
Jonathan Chan | Lighting Designer
Adrienne Quartly | Sound Designer
Minje Lee | Art Director
Ben Dackerman | Production Manager
Gangwon Boo | Artwork Designer
Minkyoung Park | AI Tech Director
Ricky Allan | Lyrics
Ben Armstrong Casting | Casting Director
Yojiro Ichikawa | Dramaturgy and Additional Lyrics
Amy Hsu | Musical Director/Musical Supervisor
Ara Cho | Planning & Production Producer
Eunggyu Lee | Executive Creative Producer
Danny Khan | Production Photography
