Play 'Sanai Watanabe' Depicting Life of Zainichi Korean Yakuza Opens Main Performances from 1st
Original Creator Director Jang Participates as Artistic Director
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Director Jang Hangjun’s first play in 12 years, Sanai Watanabe, has successfully completed a week-long preview and is now entering its main performances.
On the 2nd, Insight Entertainment announced that the play Sanai Watanabe, which opened last month on the 25th at Daehangno Plus Theater, finished its preview amid great audience response and began its main performances from the 1st.
Sanai Watanabe is the first theatrical work by film director Jang Hangjun, who directed the movie Turn On the Lighter and is active as a broadcaster. Director Jang, who participated in the 2010 project Director, Come to the Stage and wrote the script, also directed the original production himself. Returning to audiences after 12 years, he participates as the artistic director for Sanai Watanabe.
The work has been praised for blending Director Jang’s signature witty dialogue with the young sensibilities of director Hwang Heewon’s adaptation suited for the current era and writer Oh Sehyuk’s fresh perspective. Within the fast-paced and cheerful story, the lingering impression comes from the past pain and regrets held by the character Watanabe.
The play depicts the protagonist Watanabe’s process of turning his life into a film. Born as a Zainichi Korean in a Japanese slum, the story covers his rise to success as a Yakuza amid all kinds of contempt and persecution. Watanabe’s father is killed in a Yakuza attack, and after his mother leaves home, he lives alone and eventually becomes a Yakuza. The plot unfolds as Watanabe, who has decided to make a film about his life, invites Manchun, a struggling film director who failed at the box office in Korea, to Japan.
Notably, the play’s use of tap dance to portray Watanabe’s past narrative of losing his father is a rare directorial choice that captivates the audience’s attention. During the curtain call, all the actors performed tap dance, creating a remarkable spectacle.
The seasoned performances of Seo Hyuncheol, Son Jonghak, and Yoo Byunghoon, who perfectly embody the self-made Zainichi Korean Yakuza Watanabe, as well as the chaotic and agonized acting of actors Ki Sejung, Yoo Subin, and Lim Jinseop as the film director Manchun fill the 90-minute play. Additionally, Shin Changju and Lim Jingu, who play the various roles of Masao, and Jung Daham and Jo Eunjin, who portray Hideo, enrich the stage with their witty performances.
The play lyrically expresses Watanabe’s past and regrets, who could only become a Yakuza amid poverty and contempt, by incorporating Cho Yongpil’s Come Back to Busan Port, a song beloved by overseas Koreans longing for their homeland, and the Jeju folk song Neoyoung Nayoung into the performance.
The play Sanai Watanabe, which opened on the 1st, will be performed at Daehangno Plus Theater until January 15, 2023.
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