Jung Il-woo successfully returns to theater after 5 years

Actor Jung Il-woo successfully completed his first attempt at acting in five years.

Jung Il-woo ignited his passion for acting by completing the final performance of the play 'Kiss of the Spider Woman', which opened at the Yegreen Theater in Daehakro, Seoul for over two months from January 21st. Following the play 'Elephant Song' in 2019, he returned to the theater stage with an unconventional character for the first time in five years, announcing the return of a talented actor with deeper expression and character digestion.

'Kiss of the Spider Woman' is based on the novel of the same name by Argentine writer Manuel Puig and deals with the fatal and sad love between two men. It deals with the humanity and love that blooms as two characters with completely different ideologies and thoughts meet in prison and accept each other.

In this play, Jung Il-woo plays the role of Molina, a woman with romantic sensibilities who believes herself to be a woman. In particular, Molina's performance stands out in many places, from the scene where Molina tells Valentin the story of the film about the leopard woman in Argentina's Villa Devoto prison to the urgent scene where she has to dig up secret information about an anti-government organization from Valentin as a condition of parole. Jung Il-woo's acting skills also bloomed brilliantly on stage. Unconventional acting was repeated, including the passionate performance of the warm kiss between the man Valentin and the prisoner.

Jung Il-woo said, “It was not an easy work, so I had a lot of worries before deciding to appear, and it was really difficult every time I stood on stage. “It was a time of great learning as I felt new emotions every time,” he said.

He continued, “I was really grateful when I heard the response that it looked like Molina, not Jung Il-woo. “I will become an actor who does not settle for the present and moves forward,” he expressed his resolve, and revealed that ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ was a catalyst for his growth in acting.

In this work, Jung Il-woo played the role of Molina, a cross-dressing man, and gave strength to the play by conveying the message in the work, which focused on the voices of a few people, with a calm voice and delicate gestures. In order to emphasize the soft appearance of the character, he lost 6kg of weight and kept it in shape until he stood on stage.

In particular, Jung Il-woo showed tone and breathing that smoothly expressed the vast amount of dialogue and complex storytelling narrative, and confessed that he had read the script more than 1,000 times, unfolding it with heavy acting passion on stage.

In addition, he was praised for bringing the character to life with Jung Il-woo's detailed acting calculations, including the gesture of putting on and taking off the robe that symbolizes Molina's belief that she is a woman and her devotion to Valentin, and received a standing ovation on every stage. led to

Jung Il-woo, who succeeded in taking on a unique acting challenge in the play 'Kiss of the Spider Woman', continues his activities in various fields such as entertainment, broadcasting, and drama.

Ten Asia Reporter Kim Seo-yoon seogugu@tenasia.co.kr