‘Art‘ comes to Seoul with subtitles

By John Redmond

This spring, English theater company, Probationary Theatre, will be bringing the 1998 Tony award winning comedy “Art” to Seoul from March 30 to April 8 at White Box Theatre in Yongsan.

The play has been performed in Seoul before, in both English and Korean, but this will be the first time the play will be accessible to both English and Korean audiences through the use of subtitles.

This 80-minute contemporary classic by Yasmina Reza tells the tale of three male friends, Yvan, Marc and Serge, whose friendship is tested when Serge purchases a piece of art for 200,000 francs (about 180,000 million won).

The artwork in question is a white canvas with a white background and a white diagonal line on it.

Serge refers to the painting as “simple, but at the same time magnetic.” Marc is a little less subtle and Yvan is confused.

“In the space of 80 minutes the audience will be taken on a journey questioning the meaning of art, friendship, and the price we are willing to pay for both,” director Desiree Munro says.

“The play (originally written in French) has been translated into numerous languages with great success, and I believe it’s due to the themes and humor being entirely universal” Munro states. “It’s one of the reasons I chose this play. I think it will appeal to the eclectic international audiences we get at White Box Theatre.”

White Box Theatre, located in Hyochang Park, Seoul, is the only dedicated English performing arts space in Seoul. It boasts audience members from all over Europe, North America, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and of course Asia.

White Box Theatre co-owner Liam Mitchinson agrees that choosing plays that can be universally enjoyed is both a challenge and a strict policy of the theater. “We try to choose plays with themes and humor that everyone can understand. Last year, I directed an Australian comedy. As an Australian myself, I was unsure how the humor would be taken but audiences, particularly North Americans, really seemed to get it. I suppose the secret is simply choosing good plays. A strong script has universal themes, and can be understood and embraced by everyone. “Art” is a great example.”

All tickets are 15,000 won and can be purchased at the door, 30 minutes prior to the show’s start time. You can also book tickets online.

“Art” will be staged on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m.

White Box Theatre is a three minute walk from Hyochang Park Station, three subway stations west of Itaewon on line 6, near exit 2.

For a map and directions to the theater, or to book tickets in advance go to www.probationarytheatre.com