New Comedy Directed by Lim Dowan, Known for "Scapin"
Omnibus Play Weaving Together Nine Short Episodes
Opening on the 28th at Sejong Center M Theater
Among the arias from Mozart's last opera before his death, The Magic Flute, there is a unique and cheerful duet titled "Pa, Pa, Pa, Papageno."
Papageno is the name of a character in the play, a bird catcher who embarks on an adventure with the protagonist, Prince Tamino. The duet "Pa, Pa, Pa, Papageno" is sung by Papageno and his lover Papagena. Papagena is a character who transforms from an old woman into a beauty.
At first, Papageno pays no attention to Papagena's advances, as she is an old woman. However, when Papagena threatens that if he does not accept her, he will live alone forever, Papageno reluctantly pledges his love to her. At that moment, Papagena is transformed into a stunning beauty as if freed from a curse. The aria "Pa, Pa, Pa, Papageno" is then sung by the now enamored Papageno and Papagena, calling each other's names passionately.
This duet appears in Seoul Metropolitan Theater Company's first play of the year, Comic. Comic is an omnibus play composed of a prologue and nine short plays. The cheerful rhythm of "Pa, Pa, Pa, Papageno" appears in the sixth episode, "Bird Catcher."
Director Im Dowan (center) and the cast members of Seoul Municipal Theater Company 'Comic' [Photo provided by Sejong Center]
The original work of Comic is the play Theater in der Vorstadt by German actor and playwright Karl Valentin (1882?1948). Theater in der Vorstadt is an anthology of several short plays, and Comic selects nine episodes from it for performance. Eight actors perform 30 roles across the nine short episodes.
Director Lim Dowan selected and adapted the work. When met at the Seoul Metropolitan Theater rehearsal room in Sejong Center on the 18th, Director Lim said, "When I first read Theater in der Vorstadt, it was fun, but since it was written in the 1930s, it felt very old. Some parts felt like mere banter, so I did a lot of adaptation because it would be difficult to perform as is."
Director Lim Dowan, who gained attention with the comedy play Scapin, is drawing attention with this new comedy. Scapin, which Lim directed and premiered at the National Theater in 2019, was selected as one of the "Top 7 Performances of the Year" and won the 56th Dong-A Theater Award for Stage Art, creating a buzz. It also received positive reviews from audiences, leading the National Theater to stage Scapin again in 2020, 2022, and 2024.
Regarding directing another comedy, Director Lim said, "The times are turbulent, so I hope the audience can watch comfortably, laugh, and leave feeling good." He also mentioned that he personally chose the title Comic. "It doesn't have a special meaning; I just thought it would catch the eye and attract some attention."
Im Do-wan, the director, is explaining the comedy play 'Comic' which will open on the 28th at Sejong Center M Theater. [Photo by Sejong Center]
In the play, actors use various dialects to evoke laughter from the audience. Dialects from Jeolla, Chungcheong, and Gyeongsang provinces are used, as well as dialects from North Korea and Yanbian.
Director Lim said, "Dialects always appear in my works," adding, "Seoul dialect is a bit dull in intonation and not very interesting." He further explained, "Using Gyeongsang or other dialects adds intonation, so the lines are actually conveyed better. While working on this piece, I felt that just using Seoul dialect wouldn't bring out the rhythm well, and I wanted to show a variety of characters, so I included dialects."
Director Lim also noted that Valentin was a playwright who greatly influenced Bertolt Brecht (1898?1956), a German playwright who had a significant impact on world theater. He said, "I think Valentin's works influenced Brecht's plays in many ways."
Comic will open on the 28th at the Sejong Center M Theater and run until April 20.
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