[On Stage] A Play 'Yon' Rivaling Makjang Drama... But This Is Life

Henrik Ibsen's 'Jon Gabriel Borkman' Original
Opening on the 29th at Sejong Center M Theater

A middle-aged married couple quarrels over who should live with their son. The wife's older sister also gets involved in the fight because she took in her nephew and raised him like her own son when her sister was financially struggling. The wife's older sister is also the man's former lover. Due to the persistent insistence from the parents and the aunt to live together, the troublesome son makes a bombshell announcement. He leaves home, claiming he is in love with a divorced woman neighbor who is seven years older than him.

This story sounds like a scene from a typical makjang drama. It is the plot of the play 'Jon' by the Seoul Metropolitan Theatre Company, which opens on March 29 at the Sejong Center M Theater.

Go Seon-ung, the artistic director of the Seoul Metropolitan Theatre Company who adapted and directed the play, revealed rehearsal scenes at the Sejong Center on the 11th and described 'Jon' as a makjang drama. However, he said it is a makjang drama that resembles a microcosm of our lives.

Actors in the play 'Yon.' From the left, Lee Seung-woo as Erhardt, Jung Ah-mi as Ella, Lee Nam-hee as Borkman, and Lee Joo-young as Gunil.
[Photo by Seoul Municipal Theater Company]

The original work of 'Jon' is 'Jon Gabriel Borkman,' written in 1896 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828?1906). Ibsen is regarded as a figure who, along with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov (1860?1904), greatly influenced modern theater. Ibsen's representative work 'A Doll's House,' published in 1879, is recognized as a pioneering piece of women's liberation literature and continues to be widely discussed.

Artistic director Go Seon-ung directed an Ibsen work for the first time. He said, "I felt overwhelmed because Ibsen is such a master of drama." "The characters in Ibsen's works are structurally very well crafted. I felt a lot of pressure from that, but when I actually tried it, I realized the characters are dynamic and the drama feels very comfortable. I came to understand that while directing."

Go Seon-ung explained that among many of Ibsen's works, he chose 'Jon Gabriel Borkman' because of the charm of the main character, Jon Gabriel Borkman.

The protagonist Borkman is a retired banker. He once gained wealth and fame but was imprisoned for eight years on embezzlement charges. After his release, he moves into the house where his wife Gunhild lives and isolates himself for another eight years. Except for one former colleague from his old job, he meets no one. Meanwhile, he believes he will make a comeback someday.

Go Seon-ung said, "As a theatrical character, Borkman is very attractive," and added, "Having lived for eight years after embezzlement but refusing to admit it, I think Borkman is a patient with delusional disorder."

Goseon-ung, Director of Seoul Metropolitan Theater Company [Photo provided by Seoul Metropolitan Theater Company]

While Borkman was imprisoned, his wife Gunhild could not afford to raise their son Erhart. Gunhild's older sister Ella took Erhart, who is both her nephew and the son of her former lover, and raised him.

Gunhild and Ella obsess over Erhart because each claims to have given birth to and raised him. Erhart feels burdened by the obsessive attention from his mother and aunt, as well as his father's expectations, and leaves home. Parents who have excessive expectations of their children and children who feel burdened by those expectations are commonly seen around us. This is likely why this story, written about 130 years ago, is still staged today.

Actor Lee Nam-hee, who plays the protagonist and father Borkman, recalled his father, who is over ninety and in poor health, saying, "I think there is regret in not being able to care for each other because everyone is absorbed in their own work and thoughts." He added, "Like everyone else, I think that is also a form of life, family, and existence."

Artistic director Go Seon-ung said that among many of Ibsen's works, 'Jon Gabriel Borkman' moved him deeply, and he felt it should not be kept to himself but shared with others.

"I thought it would be quite meaningful to work on this story with the actors and share it with the audience. When we exchange opinions and reflect, we realize that we have already experienced or will meet at least one of the characters in this story. I chose this work because I think it is a play that feels like a microcosm containing all of our lives."

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