Shakespeare Meets Romeo, Juliet, and Hamlet: Musical 'Inside William'

Opening on March 2 at Art One Theater Hall 1

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The musical "Inside William," based on the imagination that characters from Shakespeare's tragedies "Hamlet" and "Romeo and Juliet" come out of the manuscript, will open on March 2 at Art One Theater Hall 1.

"Inside William" features Romeo, Juliet, and Hamlet, the protagonists of Shakespeare's tragedies, along with their creator, the playwright Shakespeare himself. Shakespeare struggles to achieve a happy ending recognized by both critics and audiences. He creates his works following a writing manual titled "Masterpieces, Just Follow This to Write," but during the process, the characters escape from the manuscript and try to shape their own characters with a stronger will than Shakespeare's.

"Inside William" warmly and humorously portrays a journey of finding one's lost self through the meeting of the writer and the characters. The Shakespeare in the play metaphorically reflects the reality of modern people living under the pressure to follow society's "life success guide." Through his encounters with the characters, Shakespeare seeks an ending he desires rather than the one the world expects, conveying the meaning of "a life valuable enough even if not special." "Inside William" cleverly parodies Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet," eliciting laughter.

Yeongeukyeoljeon is challenging musical production for the first time with "Inside William." Since its debut in 2004, Yeongeukyeoljeon has focused on theater. Last year, it staged four plays: "Rungs," "Mouse Piece," "Son," and "The King's Speech."

Yeongeukyeoljeon began developing "Inside William" in 2018. Through a reading performance for paid members in 2019, the work underwent revisions and improvements, and in 2020, it was selected in the New Works Creation Musical category of the Performing Arts Creation Studio hosted by the Korea Arts Council, meeting audiences.

"Inside William" is the second collaboration between writer Kim Han-sol and composer Kim Chi-young, who previously created the musical "Letters for You."

The musical "Inside William" features Shakespeare, a writer struggling to write works the world wants by following a masterpiece writing manual and transforming into various roles within his works in a one-man multi-role performance; Juliet, who lived as Verona's top bride-to-be and realizes her forgotten dream in the "unknown space"; Hamlet, who lived for his father's revenge and discovers in the "unknown space" that he prefers writing poetry to wielding a sword; and Romeo, who wants to be the protagonist of a masterpiece anywhere.

Shakespeare will be played by Choi Ho-jung, known for musicals such as "Jamie," "Cyrano," "Myeongdong Romance," and "Dwarfs," and Kim Ah-young, who has appeared in musicals "Gwangju," "Marie Curie," "Pan," and plays "The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window," and "Tok Tok."

Juliet will be portrayed by Yuria, who has appeared in musicals "Little Women," "Time of Dogs and Cats," "Lizzie," and "Midnight: Antlers," and rising star Han Jae-ah, who debuted in the musical "Grease" and gave a notable performance as "Claire" in the musical "Maybe Happy Ending."

Hamlet will be passionately performed by Kim Bada, who appeared in musicals "Infinite Power," "Me, Natasha, and the White Donkey," and plays "Orphans," "Bunker Trilogy," and "Bad Magnet," and Lim Jun-hyuk, known for musicals "Black Mary Poppins," "Werther," "Bare the Musical," and "Sweeney Todd."

Romeo will be played by Joo Min-jin, who has appeared in musicals "Vanishing," "Gwangju," "Death Song," and plays "The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window," "Round Trip Letter," and "Q," and Choi Seok-jin, who has appeared in musicals "Black Mary Poppins," "Mio Fratello," "Nansel," "Robin," and the play "Unchain."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.