Shim Eunkyung, the first Korean actor to win the Kinema Junpo best actress award in Japan, will appear on the Korean theater stage for the first time since her debut.
Shim Eunkyung's agency Pungpare said on the 19th, "Actor Shim Eunkyung has been confirmed to appear as Seoeunhee (Sonya) in the National Theater Company's new play 'Banya Ajae,' and will take on her first theater challenge in Korea," the agency said officially. The news that Shim Eunkyung, who proved her unrivaled acting by winning best actress awards in both Korea and Japan, has chosen theater as her next step is drawing attention from both the performing arts and film communities.
The National Theater Company (Director General and artistic director Park Chung-hee) presents Banya Ajae (play by Anton Chekhov, translated by Jang Han, adapted and directed by Jo Gwang-hwa), a work that reinterprets Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard in a Korean sensibility. Based on the 19th-century original that unpacks life's absurdities and human fate with a poignant yet buoyant sense of comedy, it will present on one stage a realistic portrayal that cuts through our current lives and the timelessness of the classic.
In this work, Shim Eunkyung will appear as the lead in the role of Seoeunhee (Sonya), the niece of Park Ibo (Vanya)/actor Cho Seong Ha. Seoeunhee is a character who lives honestly and diligently but carries a painful unrequited love and an insecurity about her appearance. Through Seoeunhee, who quietly holds her place and sustains life amid harsh realities, Shim Eunkyung is expected to add her own delicate sensibility to the depth of the classic.
Ahead of her first Korean theater debut since her debut, Shim Eunkyung said through her agency, "Every time I approach a work, acting still feels difficult and like a new assignment. I am excited to be able to feel the audience's breath directly and breathe together in the space of the stage, and at the same time I feel a heavy sense of responsibility," she said, expressing her feelings about participating. She added, "I will prepare diligently during the remaining period and hope to deliver a small resonance that will remain deeply with the audience who come to the stage."
In addition, first collaborations with senior figures who have led Korean theater, including Cho Seong Ha, Son Sook, Nam Myeong-ryeol, Ki Ju-bong, and Jeong Kyung-sun, are also drawing anticipation. Attention is focused on what kind of theatrical synergy Shim Eunkyung's accumulated experience at home and abroad will produce when meeting theater masters.
Meanwhile, 'Banya Ajae' will be performed at the National Theater's Haeoreum Theater from May 22 to 31.
[Photo] Agency Pungpare
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