The creative group 'Geogigamyeon' will present its new work, the mask play 'The Twelve Nights,' at the Earthling Art Hall from April 16 to 20, 2025. This performance aims to provide audiences with a new theater experience by maximizing artistic innovation through mask theater and the comedic elements of Shakespeare's original work.
The piece directed by Nam-young Baek (professor at Chung-Ang University Department of Theater) captivates the audience with its original stage language, a blend of masks and the movements of the actors. The mask play 'The Twelve Nights,' featuring twin siblings separated by a shipwreck, a romance tangled in love and misunderstanding, and truths hidden behind disguises, depicts the delightful misunderstandings and twists of the original work with masks that bring even more vividness than real faces.
The actors use masks to transition between various characters. Dramatic expressions and comedic movements convey the emotions of the characters, while the subtle changes in expressions and intricate movements created by the masks are the 'highlights.'
The stage, where visual beauty and music come together, is also mysterious and enchanting, like a world from a dream. The directing technique that combines tradition and modernity reinterprets Shakespeare's masterpieces with a new sensibility.
Meanwhile, the creative group 'Geogigamyeon,' led by Professor Nam-young Baek, has contributed to the diversity of performances by pioneering the genre of 'mask theater' in the Korean performing arts through various theatrical experiments using masks.
'Geogigamyeon's' representative work, 'Sora Star Story,' has received numerous awards at domestic and international theater festivals, and is preparing for its 15th anniversary performance next year, having risen to become a 'study seller' in the mask theater scene. Additionally, the non-verbal mask play 'Bahnhoh - Season 2' was selected as an 'Avignon GO OFF award' entry at the Busan International Theater Festival and received rave reviews at the 2014 Avignon Festival. Another non-verbal mask play, 'The Messenger,' also caught attention when performed at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
The 2025 new work mask play 'The Twelve Nights' is also a culmination of their artistic capabilities. Led by Soo-eun Lee, who is responsible for mask design and production, along with Professor Nam-young Baek, who handled adaptation and direction, all actors and staff are working together to deliver another theatrical experience to the audience.
The cast includes actors Ahn Do-yeop, Sa Yoon-il, Kim Gun-woo, Lee Ji-ho, Choi Joo-chan, Baek Seung-yeon, Wi Hyun-wook, and Eom Hye-rin, while assistant director Yoon Soo-yeon, music director Kim Tae-geun, lighting director Kim Min-kyung, stage director Lee Seung-hee, costume designer Kim Ji-woo, technical director Kim Kwang-seob, and production manager Baek Seo-rin are also participating as the staff.
[Photo] 'Geogigamyeon'
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