Veteran actors take 'Hamlet' to stage
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Yu In-chon in a scene from “Hamlet” / Courtesy of Seensee Company
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The year 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of the death of the world's most celebrated playwright, William Shakespeare. It coincides with the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late Korean thespian Lee Hae-rang (1916-1989).
Lee is a pioneer of the modern Korean theater, who began as an actor and later made his name as a director. He staged Shakespeare's "Hamlet" in its full-length for the first time in 1951. The last play he prepared before his death in 1989 was also "Hamlet."
To commemorate the two master thespians, the National Theater of Korea (NTOK) and the Seensee Company are staging an unprecedented production of "Hamlet," featuring a group of veteran actors whose average age is 66, at the Main Hall Hae of the NTOK.
From the eldest Chon Moo-song, 75, to the youngest Han Myeong-gu, 56, the actors exude extraordinary presence on stage, taking the lead roles of Hamlet (played by the former culture minister Yu In-chon) and Claudius (Jung Dong-hwan) as well as the minor roles such as the actors of a traveling troupe.
A scene from “Hamlet” / Courtesy of Seensee Company
The play is packed with the cream of the crop in Korean theater ― all nine of the actors are winners of the Lee Hae-rang Award, one of the most prestigious awards given to Korean thespians. Director Sohn Jin-chaek and set designer Park Dong-woo are also winners of the Lee Hae-rang award.
"Hamlet" is one of the longest Shakespearean plays, but playwright Bae Sam-sik trimmed it down to a two-hour and 40 minute production while maintaining the essence of the play within a play.
Instead of using the traditional proscenium stage, in which a proscenium arch separates the stage from the audience, director Sohn chose to bring the audience onto the vast stage of the NTOK's main hall, installing a 600-seat Greek amphitheater style structure, immersing the audience in the play, despite its discomforts.
This is the sixth time for actor-former minister Yu to play the anguished prince Hamlet, including Lee's posthumous production in 1989. Like the other actors in this production, Yu does not act out being young. Instead, he conveys the agony, despair and lunacy of the prince.
Actress Yoon Suk-hwa, 60, plays the 17-year-old Ophelia, the ingenue who goes out of her mind as Hamlet rejects her and her father Polonius is killed by Hamlet.
Director Sohn handed out two male supporting roles ― Hamlet’s friend and aide Horatio and seasoned politician Polonius ― to top actresses Kim Sung-nyo and Park Jung-ja, respectively. This bold decision added a fresh twist to the show, representing how the thespians transcend age and gender.
At the end of the play, the stage curtain separating the stage and the house goes up and the actors bow out to the front-of-the-house, the opposite of the traditional exit, spurring the audience to rethink the artistry of theater, acting and the time those actors spent on stage.
The play runs for a limited run through Aug. 7. Tickets cost from 30,000 to 70,000 won. For more information, visit www.iseensee.com or call (02) 577-1987.