Delaying the Deal with the Devil... The Agony of the Play 'Faust'

Faust Actor Yoo In-chon "A Role That Cannot Be Solved by Acting"
Mephisto Actor Park Hae-soo "Nightmares from Fear"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] Actor Park Hae-soo, who won the ‘Dong-A Theater Award Yoon In-chon New Actor Award’ in 2011, will share the stage with Yoon In-chon not as an award presenter or recipient, but as a fellow actor. This will be through the play 'Faust.' Yoon In-chon plays the role of ’Faust,’ a venerable scholar praised as a sage. At the moment when Faust, overwhelmed by existential despair, is about to end his life, he meets the devil and makes a contract for his soul. The role of the devil 'Mephisto' is played by Park Hae-soo.

Yoon In-chon is returning to the stage with the same titled play 27 years after playing Mephistopheles in the 1996 production of ‘Faust.’ At a press conference held on the 21st at LG Arts Center, he said, “I think this is a role that cannot be solved by acting alone. I have been really struggling. It is very difficult to imitate and express it through acting,” and added, “I am also curious about how I will meet the audience at the opening,” revealing his anguish.

From the left in the photo: Park Hae-soo, Won Jin-ah, Yoo In-chon, Park Eun-seok. [Photo provided by Sam Company Co., Ltd.]

Park Hae-soo, who is returning to the theater stage after five years, shares the same difficulty. He said, “I am starting with a fearful heart and nightmares in the role of Mephisto,” but added, “However, it is a joyful nightmare. I am playing in a new worldview and having a fascinating and new experience.”

Having participated in plays with strong character colors such as ‘Dyo-hwa Manbal’ and ‘Macbeth,’ Park Hae-soo said about this play, “I like classics. Since gods and humans are placed on a vertical line, a lot of attention must be paid to acting, but I still like it and have encountered many such works,” and added, “Personally, I find it fun and feel happiness in conveying messages through classic works.”

[Photo by Saem Company Co., Ltd.]

The direction is handled by Yang Jeong-woong, who is praised for his excellent modern interpretation of classics. He has directed ‘Coriolanus,’ ‘Peer Gynt,’ and ‘Hamlet,’ among others. He said, “Goethe’s original work conveys many things with the theme of human desire rushing in modern society,” and added, “I think this is the most necessary play at this time.” Park Hae-soo also added, “Now is an era where good and evil are unclear. If we carefully create a non-demonic side of the devil Mephisto, I think it will be a good work.”

Won Jin-ah, making her first theater stage appearance, emphasized easy understanding. Playing Gretchen, who falls into a fateful love with Faust and puts her family and herself in danger, she said, “Unlike dramas or movies, theater requires showing full shots on stage, which seems to require the skill of precise meaning delivery. I am working hard on script study,” and added, “‘Faust’ is said to be a difficult book to read, but I am trying to make it easy and comfortable to understand even for those who have not read the book.”

Park Eun-seok, who plays the young Faust, said, “When senior Yoon In-chon did the reading, I felt the tremendous power of language and the taste of diction,” and added, “Personally, I had a language complex while acting after coming back to Korea from abroad, but I think this work will be an opportunity to improve it a little.”

‘Faust’ is a masterpiece of life written over 60 years by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a giant of German literature, from his twenties until just before his death. It contains the story of the devil Mephisto making a bet with God over the human Faust. The play depicts Faust, a sage who chooses death due to life’s despair, falling into Mephisto’s trap to gain youth in exchange for his soul, and falling into a dangerous love with a woman named Gretchen whom he meets by chance.

This is the fifth production by Sam Company, which has staged plays such as ‘Harold & Maude,’ ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ ‘Richard III,’ and ‘Oedipus.’ It is the first play to be performed at the newly established ‘LG Arts Center Seoul’ in Magok last year. The curtain rose on the 31st of last month and will light up the stage until April 29.