[Stage Voices]When Reality Is Sensational, Theater Becomes Profound

Unlike television dramas, it is rare to encounter "makjang" (sensational and extreme) stories on the theater stage. Effectively delivering such stories often requires dramatic direction, but the nature of theater?where everything unfolds live and without mistakes?naturally imposes limitations on such direction.

As a result, theater inevitably relies heavily on the actors' performances, and makjang stories are often accompanied by situations that even the actors find difficult to immerse themselves in. Scenes that are hard for actors to accept are unlikely to be convincing for the audience. Sensational stories that stimulate the nerves do not fit well with the theater stage. Paradoxically, this is why plays stripped of makjang elements are often regarded as art that explores the noble truths of life. This is also where individual preferences toward theater tend to diverge.

There are times when theater feels particularly serious and weighty?especially when one starts to wonder, "Isn't reality itself makjang?"

Theater performance scene of "Berliner"
Photo by Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, (c) Lee Gangmul

This was the case with the play "Berliner," which I saw last weekend at Daehakro Theater Quad. This work is the winner of the 1st Seoul Playwriting Award, established by the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture in 2023. It was completed after two years of stage adaptation. With its high-quality direction and solid storytelling, it was more than worthy of being called a masterpiece.

"Berliner" begins with the story of Woohee, a Korean female photographer, and Taejo, a Korean-German man born in Berlin, as they visit the fictional country of Wilma. The two, strangers to each other, happen to meet by chance at Wilma Airport. When a civil war breaks out in the fictional city of Sergo, just three hours from the airport, both become stranded at Wilma Airport. While trapped there, their conversation intertwines with the stories of several other characters.

Taejo's girlfriend Yuri is a refugee from Sergo. She escapes Sergo alone, leaving her family behind, and after passing through a refugee camp, meets Taejo in Berlin, but loses her life in a terrorist attack in the city. Woohee, while helping refugees at the camp, meets a busker who sings for the refugees. Woohee photographs the busker and is about to hold a photo exhibition in Berlin. As Taejo and Woohee discuss the Berlin Wall, the story of Klaus and Ingrid?a young couple who escaped from East to West Germany during the era of the Berlin Wall?becomes intertwined as well.

Theater performance scene of 'Berliner'
Photo by Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, (c) Lee Gangmul

The stories of these three couples overlap and unfold, occasionally intersecting in ways that capture the audience's interest. The play tackles heavy themes such as division, refugees, terrorism, and civil war. All of these?division, refugees, terrorism, and civil war?arise from drawing lines between "us" and "them." In other words, "Berliner" is a play about "boundaries." Taejo stands as an ambiguous figure at the boundary, while his girlfriend Yuri, as well as Klaus and Ingrid, suffer as they attempt to cross those boundaries.

As one watches the play, it is natural to be reminded of today's society, where conflicts and confrontations arise from political divides. The president, who repeatedly engaged in extreme factionalism, was eventually impeached and met a miserable end. The behavior displayed by the impeached president and his followers was the epitome of makjang. This is why "Berliner" feels especially weighty.

Director Kim Jaeyeop of "Berliner" wrote in the program book that this is "the story of all of us who wish to cross every boundary." Just as the play dreams of a reality beyond our current frustrations, I hope that the upcoming presidential election on June 3 will bring about a new politics beyond the boundaries we face today.