'Health Decline' Lee Soon-jae Cancels All Theater Performances... "Sorry for the Great Disappointment"

Attending Physician: "3 Months Rest Needed"
"Please Support Kai, Choi Minho, and Park Suyeon"
Lead Role in 'Waiting for Godot'

Actor Lee Soon-jae. [Source=Yonhap News]

Actor Lee Soon-jae (89) has withdrawn from the play Waiting for Waiting for Godot due to health issues.

On the 18th, the production company Park Company announced through their official social media channels, "Mr. Lee Soon-jae received an additional medical opinion from his attending physician stating that he needs a three-month rest period, and thus, we have regrettably decided to cancel all remaining performances." They added, "We sincerely apologize for the great disappointment caused to the audience who have been waiting for the performance for a long time."

They continued, "We wish for Mr. Lee Soon-jae’s full recovery and kindly ask for sincere comfort and encouragement for actors Kai, Choi Min-ho, and Park Soo-yeon, who can no longer share the stage until the end." They also noted, "These three actors have shown great passion and dedication in this production, and we believe their efforts deeply resonated with the audience."

Waiting for Waiting for Godot is a comedy that pays homage to Samuel Beckett’s absurdist play Waiting for Godot. It depicts the life questions faced by understudy actors as they endlessly wait for their turn in the backstage dressing room. Lee Soon-jae played the lead role of Esther, leading the story among younger actors such as Kwak Dong-yeon, Kai, Park Jung-bok, Choi Min-ho, Jung Jae-won, and Park Soo-yeon.

Previously, on the 10th, Lee Soon-jae had also canceled some performances of the play and a master class lecture titled "70 Years of Acting Philosophy" due to health problems. At that time, the production company stated, "Although Mr. Lee expressed his will to perform on stage, driven by his lifelong belief in keeping promises to the audience, the doctor’s opinion that he needs more rest due to decreased stamina led to the unavoidable decision to cancel the performances." They conveyed Mr. Lee’s message: "We sincerely apologize to the audience who had booked tickets and were looking forward to the show. We will focus on recovery so that he can return to the stage in good health and repay your support."

Meanwhile, Lee Soon-jae was born in Hoeryong, Hamgyeongbuk-do, in 1934 and enrolled in the Department of Philosophy at Seoul National University. He debuted in 1956 with the play Beyond the Horizon while still a university student and has had an active acting career spanning 68 years.

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