Return After Over 30 Years... Yoodonggeun: "The Play 'Red' Is a Great Mountain Range of a Work"

Played a leading role alongside Jeong Boseok in the two-person play 'Red'

Photo by Shinse Company

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] Actor Yoo Dong-geun has returned to the theater stage. It has been over 30 years since he started acting in the 1980s with a people's theater troupe, before working as a public broadcaster talent.

Yoo Dong-geun made his theatrical comeback as 'Mark Rothko,' a representative painter of American Abstract Expressionism, in the play Red, which opened on the 20th. At the press preview of Red held on the 28th at the Jayu Small Theater in the Seoul Arts Center, Seocho-gu, Seoul, Yoo said, “It feels like it’s been over 30 years since I last stood on stage,” adding, “I still feel dazed. Since it’s been such a long time, honestly everything feels like a first experience.”

The play Red is a two-person drama composed of conversations between the existential painter 'Mark Rothko,' who represents the Abstract Expressionism era, and his fictional assistant 'Ken.' The work is reconstructed based on the true story behind Mark Rothko’s mural in the Seagram Building. It returned for its sixth season in Korea after its premiere in 2011.

Yoo Dong-geun’s participation was greatly influenced by actor Jung Bo-seok, who played 'Mark Rothko' in 2015 and 2019. Yoo explained his reason for joining, saying, “I watched Jung Bo-seok’s performance in 2019. I felt the lines were really good. I got a copy of the script and felt a strong motivation. Later, thanks to producer Park Myung-sung, I gained courage and decided to appear.”

He continued, “This work’s script itself is not just a play but like a piece of classical art history. It’s like encountering a great mountain range and exploring it step by step to get here,” adding, “Life’s joys and sorrows are vast, but I’m acting with the thought that I shouldn’t lean too much toward tragedy.” Yoo Dong-geun started rehearsals three weeks earlier than other actors to immerse himself in the work.

Photo by Shinshi Company

Jung Bo-seok shares the same pressure. He said, “This is my third time, but every time I say I’ll do it, I start regretting from that day. When we’re apart, I want to do it, but the moment I say yes, my head aches. (laughs) However, there is one good thing. This work makes me realize how lacking I am as an actor and stimulates me.”

Jung Bo-seok cited the charm of the play as “telling life stories through the theme of art.” He explained, “We often fall into the illusion that our own truth will last forever. If we have created something new through the past, we must be prepared to become the past ourselves, but this is something we tend to forget, and the play shows that.”

The role of Ken, the student who debates with Mark Rothko, is played by Kang Seung-ho and Yeon Jun-seok. Kang said, “Because the rehearsal period was long, I thought I could do better than other works, but I was nervous during the first performance. There are many points of communication with the audience, so I’m getting good stimulation.” Yeon said, “I was especially nervous during the first performance, and it hasn’t completely gone away yet. I will try to stand on stage in a better way.”

The performance runs until February 26 next year at the Jayu Small Theater in the Seoul Arts Center.

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