A scene from the Korean musical "The Last Man" / Courtesy of NEO

A year after winning the Olivier Award for Best New Musical, Jethro Compton has big Hollywood studios calling to ask for meetings. He is not at them. Instead, the British writer and director is working as dramaturg on “The Last Man,” a Korean one-person zombie musical set in a tiny bunker — and the last project most people would expect from the hottest name in West End theater.

“I'm saying, ‘No, no, I'm busy right now. I'm in Korea.’ I'll come back to them at some point, but right now, this feels very exciting to me,” Compton said during an interview at a cafe in Seoul, Monday.

It is a surprising choice of priorities, though Compton himself doesn't see it that way.

“I'm not very interested in my career. I'm interested in doing things that excite me and challenge me and having new experiences and working with interesting people on interesting shows … I often will turn down projects that are probably a good career choice. My heart needs to connect with something, otherwise I just can't find a way to feel passionate about it.”

Compton joined “The Last Man” after being introduced to producer Lee Hyun-jae of NEO by Jung In-suk of IM Culture, which first brought his “Trilogy” plays to Korea. NEO had been looking for a British collaborator who could help shepherd a Korean musical into a full U.K. production without losing its identity.

Written by Kim Ji-shik, with music by Kwon Seung-yeon and directed by Kim Dal-jung, "The Last Man" began as a web musical in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic before evolving into a full-fledged stage production. Set in bunker B-103 in Sillim-dong, Seoul, it follows the lone survivor of a zombie apocalypse.

Since its Korean premiere, the show has staged readings in New York and Tokyo, and a licensed Chinese production opened in Shanghai in August 2025. The London run at Southwark Playhouse Elephant, from May 8 to June 6, marks its first full-scale English production.

Jethro Compton, dramaturg of the U.K. production of the Korean musical "The Last Man," speaks during an interview at a cafe in central Seoul, Feb. 23. Yonhap

What drew Compton in was not just the genre premise, but the inner life of the person in the bunker.

Source: Korea Times News