REVIEW: You&It (King’s Head Theatre)

Star rating: ★★★

South Korea’s award-winning musical You & It has arrived in London!

Following a sold-out run across Asia and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the show is now playing at the King’s Head Theatre for a limited run. Winner of Best Musical at the Daegu International Musical Festival, it offers an emotional story about confronting grief, memory, and what it truly means to be human, written by Seoeun Oh with song by Q Lee.

The production features a tight, two-person cast starring Olivier Award nominee Frances Mayli McCann in the role of Mina, alongside Zachary Pang as Gyujin.

Most musicals look back at the past, but You & It leaps into the future to explore how technology might reshape love and grief. The impact of AI on human emotion is a topic we are seeing everywhere right now, but You & It brings those big questions right into a small, personal space. Playing in such an intimate venue like the King’s Head Theatre makes the story feel very real and close to home, especially as technology becomes a larger part of our daily lives.

While the concept is strong and holds a lot of potential, some of the musical elements don't quite hit the mark. The score can feel a bit repetitive, with many songs sharing a similar emotional tone that makes it difficult to stay fully connected throughout. Some of this may come down to translation; a few of the lyrics feel as though they were originally written for the nuance of the Korean language and didn't fully translate their poetry into English.

Still, despite the limitations in the score, both performers bring incredible vocals, genuine warmth, and soul to the stage. Frances Mayli McCann and Zachary Pang deliver grounded, deeply human performances that elevate the material and give the audience something real to hold onto.

You & It is playing at the King’s Head Theatre until 26th September. More information can be found here: https://kingsheadtheatre.com/

Photos by Danny Kaan