From the 21st to 23rd at Namsan Arts Center: "9th Modern Japanese Play Reading Performance"
[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] The Namsan Arts Center of the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture announced on the 11th that the "9th Contemporary Japanese Play Reading Performance" will be held at the Namsan Arts Center from the 21st to the 23rd.
This performance introduces three contemporary Japanese plays, one per day, co-hosted by the Namsan Arts Center and the Korea-Japan Theater Exchange Council, with cooperation from Japan's Japan-Korea Theater Exchange Center.
The works have been carefully selected from playwrights who have been most active in Japan over the past five years. It is an opportunity to discover generational characteristics of Japanese playwrights as well as another trend in contemporary theater that flows around performance-centered works.
On the first day, the play "Das Orchester" by playwright Nogi Moegi (translated by Lee Hong-i, directed by Jung Jin-sae) will be introduced. Nogi Moegi has received the Yomiuri Theater Award for Excellence in Work and Excellence in Direction, mainly writing intense dialogue plays created by dense human relationships. "Das Orchester" tells the story of an orchestra in crisis due to the dissonance created by art that expresses beauty and politics aimed at creating a better society, reflecting on the conflict between art and politics, each trying to benefit society in their own way.
The play on the second day is "Sono Yoru to Tomodachi (That Night and Friends)" by playwright Yamamoto Suguru (translated by Lee Ji-hyun, directed by Min Sae-rom). It was a finalist for the 62nd Kishida Kunio Drama Award. Yamamoto Suguru is known for directing that combines actors' movements with text, light, shadow, photography, and color. He has been actively performing and co-producing in Asia, winning Best Script and Best Work awards at the Bangkok Theater Festival. "Sono Yoru to Tomodachi" sharply captures the widespread hatred and difficult communication between people in this era through the story of three college friends who gradually drifted apart after one friend came out 15 years ago.
The final work is the play "Birth," which was staged in Korea in 2015 through an exchange with the theater company "Golmokgil" (translated by Son Sang-hee and Tsukaguchi Tomo, directed by Park Geun-hyung). The playwright Shirai Keita mainly writes plays on social issues and is a versatile playwright involved in film and novel adaptations, directing, and acting. Following the 2015 Korean performance of "Birth," he has also written and directed works dealing with Korean history. "Birth" is a meta-drama depicting the conflict and crisis that arise when a person who tried to make a fortune through voice phishing calls their estranged biological mother from childhood.
The 9th Contemporary Japanese Play Reading Performance also offers side programs to help understand contemporary Japanese plays. After each performance, a "Talk with the Audience" session will be held where the playwright, director, and audience discuss together. On the last day, the 23rd, at 5:30 PM, a symposium titled "The Future of Korea-Japan Theater Exchange" will be held. Moderated by Lee Seong-gon (theater critic and professor at Korea National University of Arts), four experts?Ko Ju-young (planner), Shirai Keita (playwright and director), Jang Ji-young (Kookmin Ilbo reporter), and Ota Akira (secretary general of the Japan-Korea Theater Exchange Center)?will review the effects and limitations of past Korea-Japan theater exchanges and consider new intersections for contemporary theater in both countries. Anyone who has watched the reading performances can participate.
The Korea-Japan Theater Exchange Council, in cooperation with Japan's Japan-Korea Theater Exchange Center, publishes the "Contemporary Japanese Play Collection" every two years. The "Contemporary Japanese Play Collection 9," to be published this year, includes five Japanese plays translated into Korean. Three of these will be performed on stage in this reading performance. Through this exchange, since 2002, 45 contemporary Japanese plays have been introduced in Korea, and 45 contemporary Korean plays have been introduced in Japan over 18 years.
Tickets for the 9th Contemporary Japanese Play Reading Performance can be reserved through the Namsan Arts Center website. Performances start at 7:30 PM on weekdays and at 3:00 PM on Saturdays and Sundays.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
