Review: THE COMFORT WOMAN, Omnibus Theatre
Photo credit: Abbie Sage
Minjeong Kim brings her debut solo work The Comfort Woman back to London following a successful 2024 run, this time joined by musician Ji Eun Jung. Together, they revisit a painful and often overlooked history from colonised Korea, one that deserves to be known by the world.
As audiences enter, the beautiful resonance of the live gayageum (Korean traditional harp) immediately transports us to a different time and place. Set in South Korea, Minjia (Minjeong Kim) gently guides us through her life from childhood. Kim’s performance is engaging and tender, and her physical control is admirable. As she transforms to embody multiple characters, she remains precise, allowing the audience to follow her every breath.
The physical language is the strongest element of the piece. Movement director Laure Bachelot’s work clearly pays off, particularly in the elegantly choreographed character transitions. Director Anna Udras’ overall vision and aesthetic are minimal and effective; the world is built through performance rather than elaborate set design.
Dramaturgically, however, the story feels slightly imbalanced in its weight. A large portion of the piece focuses on the character’s childhood. While this successfully builds empathy and deepens our connection to her as an individual, something feels missing in the later sections. Although the show aims to give voice to comfort women collectively, the earlier scenes carefully construct the protagonist as a distinct individual, yet in the camp her experience becomes blurred into that of “all the girls.” While recognising collective trauma is essential, it is equally important not to flatten individual experiences. It feels like a missed opportunity to further explore this specific character’s perspective in the later moments, where she is instead presented mainly as “one of the survivors.” Two direct-address soliloquies also feel somewhat out of place, momentarily breaking the world that had otherwise been carefully built.
The relationship between performer and musician is one of the production’s strongest elements. For much of the piece, the gayageum and Kim’s body and voice weave together as if they are one. However, occasional sound effects disrupt this otherwise cohesive sonic world. In a work so grounded in live presence, these technical additions feel slightly detached. One finds oneself wishing that all sound might emerge from the same live source, preserving the consistency the show so carefully constructs.
Visually, the lighting design by Abbie Sage is simple and effective, complementing the clean colour palette and minimal set. Nothing feels excessive; the restraint allows the story to remain central.
Despite some uneven structuring, The Comfort Woman remains a deeply sincere piece of storytelling. Through Kim’s tender performance and the soul-stirring strings of the gayageum, the production invites audiences to sit with a history that is too often overlooked. It is a reminder that remembrance is not only an act of looking back, but also an act of responsibility.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Diana Feng
The Comfort Woman plays at London’s Omnibus Theatre until 7 March, with further info here.