“Nightmare and a New World” with Park Hae-soo and the creepy Yoo In-chon

Actors Yoo In-chon, Park Hae-soo, Park Eun-seok, and Won Jin-ah will radiate energy on stage for just four weeks through the play 'Faust' as a 'one cast'.

On the afternoon of the 21st, a press conference for the play 'Faust' was held at the LG Arts Center Seoul in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Actors Yoo In-chon, Park Hae-soo, Park Eun-seok, Won Jin-ah, and director Yang Jeong-woong attended the event.

'Faust' is a reinterpretation of the play completed over 60 years by the great German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Through Faust's imperfect actions and choices, direction and inspiration for an imperfect life are presented.

On this day, director Yang Jeong-woong said, "I think 'Faust' is a play that is needed at this time. Goethe also asked a question a long time ago. Goethe poses to us the topic that is endlessly racing in modern society, the race against human beings' changing desires. “I think that kind of desire can give modern people questions and inspiration,” he said, revealing his intention in directing the film.

In the play, Yoo In-chon plays the role of Faust, an old scholar who studied various subjects throughout his life to the point that many people praised him as a wise man. Yoo In-chon is making a comeback with a work of the same name about 27 years after playing the role of Mephistotle in the play 'Faust' in 1996.

Yoo In-chon said, “I played the role of Mephisto in ‘Faust’ produced in 1997. It was my first time playing the role of Faust.” Regarding his feelings about working with the young Park Hae-soo, Park Eun-seok, and Won Jin-ah, he said with a laugh, "Some of my juniors are overly referring to me as their senior. I have very good memories of hanging out with young actors during 'Hamlet.'"

In addition, “Even though we are of different generations, the difference in working together on a project is that we have different perspectives and methods of expression. As we exchange these things, I also receive energy subconsciously and see them doing it, which gives me an opportunity to improve. In that respect, this work is “I think it could be a good design,” he said.

Hae-soo Park plays Mephisto. Mephisto is a character who brings pleasure to Faust and will do anything to bring about his destruction and corruption. Park Hae-soo returns to the stage five years after the play 'Nassim' in 2018.

Park Hae-soo said, "Five years have passed (since I stood on stage). I was desperately thinking about the stage. At that time, I met my role through my work in the media. The reason why I can now stand on the performance stage again. “I wondered myself what it might be,” he said.

Park Hae-soo said, “I feel like ‘Faust’ came to me.” He added, "I felt like the work I needed had come to me. The bigger thing was that I wanted to stand on stage with the Traveler family, LG Arts Center director Yang Jeong-woong, senior Yoo In-chon, etc."

Park Hae-soo said, "I am both grateful and scared because I am the Mephist in Goethe's Faust. I started with Nightmare with difficulty from the beginning, knowing that the role was not easy. I am living in a new world with pleasant nightmares," and "I am a traveler who delves into Goethe's world view together." “I want to play on stage with my family and director Yang Jeong-woong. It’s an amazing and mysterious experience, and I’m doing my best every day,” he said.

Park Hae-soo has a connection with Yoo In-chon. In the past, Yoo In-chon received the Rookie Actor Award. He said, "I told him that I received the award given by teacher Yu In-chon, and it was an honor for him to remember me. I dare say that (Yoo In-chon) is showing a wonderful performance about the Korean language and language that is certain in our country. I grew up watching that high-quality acting. “During our first reading, I felt like I was in an orchestra. That gave me goosebumps. I personally recorded it to study,” he said, making everyone laugh.

Park Eun-seok plays the role of young Faust. Faust, who becomes young after drinking a witch's potion, falls for Mephisto's schemes and becomes obsessed with worldly desires and pleasures. Park Eun-seok said about Yoo In-chon, "He is a senior, and when actor Yoo In-chon did the reading first in the practice room, I saw that he was able to demonstrate the power of language, diction, vocalization, and pronunciation. It was amazing to me," and "In fact, I was able to speak Korean." "I started acting after learning it again in Korea. I have a complex about language, but I think this work will definitely be an opportunity for me to improve. I'm watching and learning a lot from people around me," he said.

Won Jin-ah said, "Because 'Faust' is a classic literature, there are many poetic expressions. I had to study while understanding the meaning. Each person who interprets it may be different. Since we are in a position to create it together, we need to have sufficient agreement and strong meaning. “I compose the themes contained within and express them through acting,” he explained. He continued, "People say that 'Faust' is difficult to read until the end, but we try to convey the meaning and message without making it difficult. We are putting a lot of effort into making it easy for people who had difficulty reading the book. It is a little easier than if you dared to read it in a book. “We are trying to create a stage that you can enjoy comfortably. You can look forward to that,” he said.

Meanwhile, the play 'Faust' will open at the LG Arts Center Seoul on March 31.

Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr