Han Kang's 'We Do Not Part' finds intimate voice on Seoul stage
On a stage stripped of almost everything but white, actors Isabelle Huppert and Lee Hye-young summoned a snowbound island. There were no trees, no hospital bed and no visible parrot to rescue. Yet as the French and Korean actors read from Han Kang’s novel, their voices and languages supplied the scenery: severed fingers ache and snow gathering around an unseen house. “Oiseau,” a bilingual reading…
On a bare stage painted white, French actress Isabelle Huppert and Korean star Lee Hye-young brought to life Han Kang's novel "We Do Not Part." The stage, devoid of trees, hospital beds, or even a parrot, offered a stark visual of the story's themes. The actors, cloaked in white, used their voices and languages to paint the scene: frozen fingers and snow accumulating around an unspecified house.
This bilingual reading play, a result of Han Kang's Nobel Prize win, debuted in Korea on the same date as his Nobel win, a date celebrated by literature enthusiasts as "Han Kang Day." Translated from the roughly 2,000-seat Avignon Festival stage, the intimate production of "Oiseau" moved from the outdoor Cour d'honneur at the Palace of the Popes to a 500-seat indoor theater. The smaller setting enhanced the play's core quality - the closeness it achieved with its audience.
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- Han Kang's 'We Do Not Part' finds intimate voice on Seoul stage koreatimes.co.kr
