A 181-Year Acting Career Challenge... Shin Goo, Park Geun-hyung, and Park Jeong-ja in the Play 'Waiting for Godot'

December Dalloreum Theater Opening, Runs Until February 19 Next Year
Shingu and Park Geun-hyung's First Theatrical Collaboration, Featuring Kim Hak-cheol and Kim Rian
Park Jeong-ja: "Actors Have No Gender, We Are Free"

"Considering my age, it feels burdensome, and I actually have some health issues, so I hesitated quite a bit to take on the role. However, this has been a work I've wanted to do for a long time but never had the chance. This might be my last opportunity, and I thought if I miss it, I might never get another chance in my lifetime, so I was a bit greedy. I will pour all my strength into this work."

Actor Shin Goo is giving a greeting at the press conference for the play "Waiting for Godot," held on the morning of the 9th at the Artist's House in Jongno-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

With 62 years of acting experience, actor Shin Goo (87) responded this way when asked about his thoughts on appearing in the play Waiting for Godot. Alongside him, actors Park Geun-hyung (83) with 61 years of experience and Park Jeong-ja (81) with 58 years of experience, who all confessed that Waiting for Godot was a "work they definitely wanted to perform in," will take the stage at the Daloreum Theater of the National Theater of Korea in Jung-gu, Seoul, from December 19 this year to February 18 next year. At a press conference held on the 9th at the Artists' House in Jongno-gu, Seoul, these actors, whose combined acting experience totals 181 years, said they saw the two wanderers in the play endlessly waiting for "Godot" as a reflection of ourselves living in the present.

Actor Park Geun-hyung said, "The foundation of all arts is theater and the stage, but students who love the stage are still living in poor conditions just like I experienced 60 years ago," adding, "I had promised to do one play every year but failed to keep that promise and recently have been doing a play once every seven years, but this time I was lucky to get this opportunity. Why don’t we have works as excellent as Beckett’s? Just as K-pop and K-dramas have risen to a global level, I hope that world-class works will emerge from Korean theatrical creations in the future."

These veteran actors of the theater world will perform for two months without any casting changes, each playing a single role. Shin Goo plays Estragon (Gogo), an emotional character symbolizing human physicality and greed; Park Geun-hyung plays Vladimir (Didi), a philosophical character symbolizing human intellect; and Park Jeong-ja takes on Lucky, Pozzo’s servant and slave.

Actor Park Jeong-ja is giving a greeting at the press conference for the play "Waiting for Godot," held on the morning of the 9th at the Artist's House in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Actor Park Jeong-ja said, "I raised my hand and asked, 'Can I take the role of Lucky, who is a male character in the original work?'" She explained, "I have always been amazed watching many actors who have passed through this work and that stage, and I really wanted to appear, so I volunteered for the role of Lucky. Actors have no gender distinction. We only tell the story of a human being." She added, "(Although Beckett opposed female actors appearing in this work during his lifetime) just as I took on Lucky, why couldn’t Mr. Shin Goo or Mr. Park Geun-hyung play female roles? We are always free."

Kim Hak-cheol (63), cast as Pozzo, said, "I am ecstatic to finally become the youngest in the theater world after 64 years. Taking on the role of Pozzo feels like fate, and when I heard about the casting of the senior actors, tears welled up in my eyes without me realizing it," sharing his thoughts. "It is the most nerve-wracking stage among the seniors, but I will perform boldly."

Waiting for Godot premiered in Paris in 1953. Since director Lim Young-woong of the Sanwoollim Theater first staged it in Korea in 1969, it has been performed about 1,500 times over 50 years, receiving great love from audiences. This production is directed by Oh Kyung-taek, who previously directed the plays The Last Session and Love Letter.

On the morning of the 9th, attendees are taking a commemorative photo at the press conference for the play "Waiting for Godot" held at Yesulgaui Jip in Jongno-gu, Seoul. From the left: director Oh Kyung-taek, actors Shin Goo, Park Jeong-ja, Park Geun-hyeong, Kim Hak-cheol, and Kim Rian.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Director Oh Kyung-taek said, "It is such a legendary work, and I learned directing by watching the excellent production of director Lim Young-woong, so I feel the pressure," but emphasized, "Working with the actors, since theater is the art of actors, I expect that if we stay faithful to the script, a different feeling of the work will emerge, and I am enjoying this happy pain that I chose myself."

"Godot does not actually exist. While waiting for this formless entity on stage, the actors talk about various things. Whether it is God, freedom, or hope, it is never fully fulfilled. I think we live because of the expectation that maybe tomorrow it will be fulfilled. We do not give up because of that hope," Shin Goo said, sharing that he pondered deeply on the meaning of waiting for Godot. His colleagues said they were very worried because he had acute heart failure last year and had an artificial pacemaker implanted, but he is practicing with all his might, thinking that if he misses this work, he might never get another chance in his lifetime.

Waiting for Godot will open at the Daloreum Theater of the National Theater of Korea on December 19 and run until February 18 next year.