Nonverbal Mask Play Bahnhof Goes on Stage
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
``Bahnhof,'' meaning train station in German, is a non-verbal mask performance that will be staged from Oct. 23 to Nov. 15 at Theater The Other in Daehangno, central Seoul.
Local theater company Geogi Gamyeon will present the new work in which four actors wearing masks will portray diverse characters.
The four wear 37 masks representing various characters from a garbage collector to a shopkeeper, a ticket inspector, a soldier and a pickpocket, newly created by artist Lee Su-eun for the show.
The theater company said that it will be interesting to see how fast the actors transform into other characters as they change masks.
The play portrays ordinary people who come and go at the train station, and show revolves around the daily happenings among the numerous characters there. .
A mischievous old man named Dong-su has a close friend named So-ra, a female trash collector, whom he plays jokes on. Meanwhile, Seok-ho owns a shop and a ticket inspector named Mi-suk greets passengers. Seok-ho and Mi-suk open their day having quarrels with each other every morning. In the station, these people meet each other and say goodbye.
``Bahnhof'' focuses on how people meet, live and love through trivial fights, hatred and conflict against the backdrop of the station.
``Unlike previous nonverbal performances that mostly rely on using body movement and music, the play uses objects ― masks ― to highlight the conflict of humans in a new format,'' the company said in a press release.
The company also said that the play will touch the hearts of the audience with warm-hearted stories about common people.
Actors Choi Yo-han, Koo Ki-hwan, Ha Joon-ho and Song Young-hoon will play the 37 characters through mask changes.
The play was written and is directed by Baek Nam-young. Tickets cost 15,000 won for middle and high school students and 20,000 won for adults.
For more information, call (02) 764-7462.