Review: Dragons at Theatre Royal Newcastle

“…mesmerising…spellbindingly beautiful from start to finish…”

Dragons by Eun-Me Ahn, Theatre Royal Newcastle

By Melina Turner-Deeks

Eun-Me Ahn’s ‘Dragons’ is an incredible feat of choreography, with an out-of-this-world soundscape (by Jang Young-Gyu) that blends pop and electronic music with a more traditional score. 

Newcastle’s Theatre Royal is a splendid setting for this gloriously adventurous performance from Dance Consortium. The only thing that detracted from being welcomed into this beautifully historic and grand building was the unnecessary use of disposable plastic cups: which not only spoiled the grandeur of the theatre experience but is hard to justify in 2025.

Eun-Me Ahn is an inspirational and influential South Korean choreographer. In her lifetime, she has straddled South Korea and New York, winning the New York Foundation for the Arts award and choreographing the 2002 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in Daegu. In Dragons, she creates a joyous celebration of life and dance, brimming with enthusiasm and intensity.

In the West, dragons are known as fearsome creatures to be battled. However, in East Asian culture, they are revered as benevolent protectors that bring joy, optimism and good luck. Eun-Me Ahn captures the essence of the dragon onstage by creating a magical space that explores the beauty of humanity and the ecstasy of movement, framed by incredible and vivid projections of forests, waterfalls and skies (Taeseok Lee & Minjeoung Lee). Created during the height of Covid, Dragons features several Zoom-style aspects that blend technology with reality, while subtly emphasising how this can impact meanings of community and connection.

The performance starts slowly, with small steps, drawing attention to the inevitable passing of time. As it builds in intensity, it addresses issues of heritage, tradition, death and most importantly, life. The entire show is non-stop hypnotic and hallucinogenic in the way that it combines breathtaking music and light with incredible choreography and cutting-edge holographic technology.

The seven accomplished dancers (Gaon Han, Dekyeoung Kim, Hyekyoung Kim, Seyeon Kim, Doohee Lee, Hyeonseo Lee, Yeongsik Moon) hold the stage with ease and confidence, each dancing flawlessly in light-reflecting costumes that glittered with vibrancy. They are joined onstage by a younger cohort of performers, all born in the year 2000 (the year of the Dragon), from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan (Akari Takahashi, Dwi Nusa Aji Winarno, Jiwan Jung, Nur Syahidah Binti Hazmi, Siko Setayanto, Zhou Guanting). These performers appear as holograms, creating bridges between old and new, technology and traditionality, present and future. Eun-Me Ahn uses this show to spotlight the power and potential of youth, while simultaneously joining them with a community of dancers that spans both borders and generations. The show also takes into account a variety of traditional dance styles, seamlessly blending Eastern and Western, and nodding towards ideas of global togetherness via the medium of dance. Eun-Me Ahn’s reassuring presence in the performance has an air of motherly warmth towards both the holographic and physical dancers. The whole piece acts as a symbolic ‘passing of the torch’, giving the next generation the opportunity to shine!

The costume design (also by Eun-Me Ahn) is stunning; with vivid, eye-catching, odd-socked, gender fluid costumes that challenge expectations and depict people as people rather than opposing sexes. Humanity is a highlight of this production, with touching personal accounts of aspirations and history. The finale sees a flurry of snapshots that further solidifies this deep connection between members of this community, held together by dance and self-expression.  

The set design (again, Eun-Me Ahn) was creative and evocative, with a backdrop of industrial silver ventilation tubes (which, at times, became serpentine, reiterating the dragon motif) and as the audience took their seats, a hazy gauze screen displayed holographic patterns of swaying leaves. This layering of nature and industry set the premise of juxtaposing new and old before the show had even begun. This, combined with the live K-pop DJ stationed in the foyer of the Theatre Royal, generated a great deal of pre-show anticipation – and we were not let down! This performance was a mesmerising splash of colour and energy that was truly, spellbindingly beautiful from start to finish. 

Dragons plays at Theatre Royal Newcastle until Saturday 15 March.

Melina Turner-Deeks is a poet and self-confessed literature nerd. She currently runs literary workshops and bookclubs in North Tyneside as The Literature Lass. When she is not baking, parenting or reading, she loves being outdoors and connecting with nature. Find her on Instagram here or Facebook here.