Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Reversing `Faust'
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Jeun Mi-do performs as Mephisto in “Mephisto” at the Seoul Arts Center (SAC) in southern Seoul. / Korea Times
By Kwon Mee-yoo
By Kwon Mee-yoo
"Faust,’’ considered one of the pillars of Western literature, is a play about a man who sells his soul for worldly gains. Korean director Seo Jae-hyeong twists Goethe’s masterpiece by highlighting the demon’s point of view.
"Mephisto,’’ which runs through Friday at the Seoul Arts Center (SAC) in southern Seoul, testifies to Seo’s talent for stunning visuals, although his extravaganza could have benefited from a more coherent text.
In most stage productions of Faust, Mephisto, the demon, has been played by male actors for masculine presence. Seo went with a different direction and cast actress Jeun Mi-do as his Mephisto.
Jeun is brilliant as the demon, a role she delivers with a dark intensity of feeling and seductiveness, giving the play an intellectual depth it probably does not deserve. The range she shows here was unexpected ― Jeun was merely adequate as Lotte in "Werther’’ and Lara in "Doctor Zhivago’’ before joining Seo at SAC.
Seo’s Faust, on the other hand, was somewhere between underwhelming and terrible, although one may argue that is precisely the realm actor Chung Dong-hwan portrays in every role. Chung seemed to be investing as much thought into Faust as he does the bumbling, marginalized husband roles he keeps playing on television, and his ineptitude inflicts irrevocable damage on the play.
Seo’s play highlights the first part of Goethe’s tragedy where, after much rambling, Faust strikes a bargain with Mephisto in order to have sex with the local beauty, Gretchen.
Seo visualizes a lavish feast to express Faust’ decadence. The scene is helped by the imaginative stage design of Yeo Shin-dong, who symbolizes Faust’s complex character with two pillars on the stage ― one with books and the other with roses ― and his lust with a large and grotesque statue of a pig.
Eventually, "God" steps into rescue Faust in his relation with the demon, making him realize that joy requires agony. Jeun's Mephisto protests, asking God "Did I stick to him, or did he summon me?’’ a line delivered in beautiful pity.
Mephisto runs through Saturday. Tickets cost 30,000 to 50,000 won. For more information, visit www.sac.or.ksr or call (02) 580-1300.