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Daniel White appears as Nick and Wendy Taylor as Honey in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” which starts Feb. 3 at White Box Theater in Seoul. (Michele Farley) |
If you think you’re ready to face facts, the latest offering from Korea’s expat theater scene might have you thinking again.
Probationary Theater is putting on “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” for two weeks starting Feb. 3.
“It’s the kind of play that the other theater companies in Seoul had never put on before,” says director Quinn Olbrich.
“I thought it would be sort of new and fun, and also a bit gritty, which I think is something different.”
The play was written by Edward Albee, whose work Olbrich says hasn’t been tackled before by expat theater groups here. While he appreciates Albee’s sharp dialogue, Olbrich feels the theme of the play is its real unique selling point.
The title is a pun on the Disney song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” and refers to the idea of living without illusions. This idea of facing up to reality is something Olbrich says is a fundamental question that applies to everyone.
“I think it speaks to human nature,” says Olbrich of the play’s theme. “I think it something that’s very relevant; something that everyone is confronted with at one point in their lives.”
Olbrich says he wants to get the audience to ask the same question of themselves.
“I really want them to think about their own lives and how they act and how they approach this whole idea of reality and what they do. How they deal with reality; whether they accept it or whether they attack people. Open up a conversation about it.”
The original version is quite long ― typically more than three hours ― but Olbrich has kept almost all of it, shaving it down to two-and-a-half hours. The wording of what remains is the same as the original, while the set, costumes and make-up will retain the same look as the 1960s original, including the living room stage.
“I really want to make it as realistic as possible so that when the audience comes in they feel transported into their world ― not just in terms of the era but also in terms of the realistic setting.”
Cael Anton, a musician who works with Olbrich as part of another theater group in Korea, has written music specially for the play. The music will also be used for a video to promote the performances to go up on the Probationary Theater website and Facebook page Wednesday.
Olbrich said that more than 30 people auditioned for the play, and that competition for parts was very strong.
“I had a call back and it kind of came down to the wire, but I’m extremely happy with my decision,” he said. “I think we had a pretty good rapport going and I think that also helped in the rehearsal process.”
Olbrich says that the size of the cast ― there are just four characters in the play ― was also beneficial to developing the production.
“I think we’ve been able to bond, not just with me but as a cast,” he said.
“And when that happens people are able to trust each other and their instincts and maybe are able to experiment a bit more.
“I also think that all of the characters are really strong and so all of the actors are in character and that makes or breaks a play.”
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” is showing at White Box Theater near Hyochang Park Station on Feb. 3-5, and 10-12. Tickets are 15,000 won.
Performances start at 8 p.m. on Fridays, 7 p.m on Saturdays and at 3 p.m. on Sundays.
For information about booking, directions and other Probationary Theater productions visit www.probationarytheatre.com
By Paul Kerry (
paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)
