Pub drama about ‘what it means to be young and incomplete’ comes to Lambeth Fringe from South Korea.
Four friends. One, or more, round of drinks. A crisis that was already there.
Counterattack: Youth, a punchy and disarmingly honest drama, comes to Lambeth Fringe at the
Bread & Roses Theatre on Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th October at 7.00pm.
Adapted from the acclaimed Korean original production by Theatre Group Dalddeuda, Counterattack: Youth comes to the UK to follow four Korean women in their late twenties who gather at a pub for a wedding celebration. What starts as a reunion over a bottle of beer quickly turns into something else: the quiet but intense conversation about financial pressure, job insecurity, marriage and social expectations on the youth in 2020s. There is a lot of talk, but no one really has it together.
The production is designed so the audience never feels like they’re watching a play. Positioned at tables around the performance space, they are pub patrons who happen to be sitting close enough to overhear.
Gain (Amy) Park, who writes and directs the piece, said: “This play doesn’t try to save youth or offer solutions. It puts four people in a pub and asks what it means to stay beside each other when nothing is sorted yet. That question belongs just as much to the UK as it does to South Korea.”
Counterattack: Youth is produced by Logue Studio and has been adapted specifically for UK audiences. It reworks the cultural references and social pressures to reflect the realities of young people in Britain today. Running 70 minutes with no interval.
The show is suitable for audiences in their twenties and thirties, and particularly resonant for anyone who has felt the gap between the life they planned and the one they’re actually living, as well as for anyone curious about what young people today are really going through. No matter what, this show will share a snippet of how young women of Korean-heritage in London feel and think.
Counterattack: Youth had its UK premiere at Brighton Fringe in May 2026 at the Cellar Bar of the Brunswick before this Lambeth Fringe run at the Bread & Roses Theatre.
For Lambeth Fringe, the production has been further developed. Gain (Amy) Park said: “We’ve fleshed out each character’s individual story and raised the level of audience participation. Although their backgrounds are all different, I think the direction of this production is that they share a heritage as Koreans living in London.”
REVIEWS FOR COUNTERATTACK: YOUTH AT BRIGHTON FRINGE
“A loveable, sassy and unique show.” — Simon Jenner, FringeReview
“A delightfully competent piece of work.” — John Groves, Theatre in Brighton
CREATIVE
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY | Gain (Amy) Park
PRODUCED BY | Euna Ko, Annie Kyung, and Jaemin Yu
CAST
This Lambeth Fringe run features an all-Korean cast (Korean nationals or performers of Korean heritage). Hannah – Siyun Leem
Ella – Hazel Oh
Yuna – Mireia Espulga Sarah – Lia Lee
Counterattack: Youth
Bread & Roses Theatre, 68 Clapham Manor Street, London SW4 6DZ Wednesday 14th & Thursday 15th October, 2026 at 7.00pm Running time: 70 minutes, no interval
Tickets: Standard: £12 | Concessions: £10 Booking: via the Lambeth Fringe website Part of Lambeth Fringe 2026
