Seoul Players stage Moliere's 'Imaginary Invalid'

Actor Michael Everhard stars as Argan in Moliere's “The Imaginary Invalid.” / Courtesy of Robert Michael Evans

By Celeste Kriel

Expat theater group Seoul Players is presenting their mainstage production of Moliere's “The Imaginary Invalid,” a comedy about the hypochondriac Argan and his misadventures. Their opening shows are this weekend at Yeollim Hall in Jongno-gu.

The play is based on a modern translation by Dan Smith of Constance Congdon's adaptation of the original Moliere play.

Though the production is based on the modern version, Seoul Players director Cassandra Hendricks prepared for the production by researching the time period and sharing her findings with the cast and crew. “Even though we always maintained we would not be setting the play in that time period (17th century) it was important to know the socio-political climate of that time to understand the text,” she said.

“We also talked about what and how Argan's hypochondria could be seen today. We all agreed hypochondriacs still exist and large pharmaceutical companies and medical schemes continue to take advantage of them. Perhaps Argan's hypochondria would be worse today with the advent of the internet and access to sites like WebMD.”

Seoul Players producer Sarah Grover said the play is packed from beginning to end with action, singing, dancing and quick-witted dialogue. She said the director and producers have worked to make the play more accessible to everybody. “The updated verbiage and humor in the play make it automatically more accessible, and we have also included music everyone knows which will transport them into the play more than if we had used 17th century music.” she said.

Seoul Players tries to do something different every spring.

“During the fall, we always produce our 10-Minute Play Festival and a Shadow Cast of Rocky Horror, so during the spring our audience knows and can expect to see something different and more traditional,” Grover said.

The play will be presented in English with Korean subtitles. Hendricks said the humor and nuances have been taken into consideration regarding the translation, so it will be just as funny for both expat and Korean audiences.

There are two shows this Saturday at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., and one show on Sunday at 3 p.m. The same schedule applies for the next weekend on March 31 and April 1. Tickets are 20,000 won at the door, 15,000 won in advance, 10,000 won for Saturday matinees and 10,000 won for all shows for students. Visit seoulplayers.org for more information and to book tickets. Advance ticketing closes 24 hours before each performance.

Any further questions can be answered by messaging seoulplayers@gmail.com

or visiting fb.com/SeoulPlayers.