Long-form plays are the next big thing in theaters

A scene from “Angels in America Part 1: Millennium Approaches” / Courtesy of the National Theater Company of Korea

By Kwak Yeon-soo

While scripted short-form TV dramas and shows are gaining popularity, the theater industry is reversing the latest trend and embracing long-form plays to take audiences on an immersive journey inside literary works.

“The Brothers Karamazov,” based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel of the same name, is a six-hour play. The play, which ran for 20 days from Oct.12 to 31, split into two parts (three hours each) during weekdays and played both parts (six hours) on weekends. Despite concerns about the extremely long play, around 80 percent of the tickets were sold.

Stage director Na Jin-hwan, who adapted and dramatized the epic classic novel ― over 1,700 pages ― explained that it was necessary to use the long-form in order to depict the multi-layered characters and the series of events that occurs surrounding them.

Actor Jung Dong-hwan, who played five different characters in the play, said that the lengthy narrative is worth watching because the plot has perfect pacing and the characters are immeasurably deep and interesting.

Actor Jung Dong-hwan in a scene from the play “The Brothers Karamazov” / Courtesy of PIAC

Following “Angels in America Part 1: Millennium Approaches,” a 250-minute play that was performed at Myeongdong Theater from Nov. 26 to Dec. 26, “Angels in America Part 2: Perestroika” will be performed at the same venue from Feb. 25 to March 27 with a running time of 270 minutes.

The eight-hour epic piece by Tony Kushner is set in 1985 and revolves around three main characters, Prior Walter, Roy M. Cohn, and Joseph Pitt. It explores a wide variety of themes, including gay rights, AIDS and politics. It has won numerous awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play.

The concept of sitting through eight hours of theater sounds daunting, but the audience don't have to worry because it's not all performed at once, according to the theater director Shin Yoo-chung.

“I hoped that the audience would ponder on major themes of the story such as minorities, race and religion presented in the work. I thought it should have a longer running time to fully enable the audience to think through such issues,” Shin said.

“Millennium Approaches” sold 4,500 tickets last year while “Perestroika” will begin selling tickets on Feb. 9.

The National Theater Company of Korea is also planning to unveil another play, tentatively titled “The Story of Geumjo,” in April. The story is about the people who survived the 1950-53 Korean War. The main protagonist is 40-year-old Geumjo who used to work in the buckwheat fields but then flees her hometown to escape the fighting. It is projected to run for more than four hours.