"Ogu: The Ritual of Death" by veteran playwright and director Lee Yoon-taek, featuring "gut", or shamanistic rituals, will go on stage next month as part of the theatrical masterpiece series of the Oulim Nuri Arts Complex.
The Gyeonggi-based arts complex prepares the special series to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Korean contemporary theater this year. The year 2008 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Korean contemporary theater. "Silver World" (Eunsegye) by Lee In-jik, was first staged at Wongaksa, one of the early theaters in Seoul, in 1908.
"Ogu", one of the most highly acclaimed dramas viewed by many Korean theater-goers, returns four years after the last performance in 2005.
"Ogu" effectively depicts Korean conceptualizations about life and death, melting a tragic story of the death of an old mother into the traditional Korean shamanistic ritual, creating a satiric and humorous touch.
Ogu is a word that Lee abbreviated from Sanogu gut (exorcism), which means "cleansing the dead of all hindrances on their way to the other world (the death)".
Veteran actress Kang Boo-ja, who has played the main role of Hwangssi Halmae (Grandma Hwang) on stage since 1997, will also portray the same character.
The story revolves around Hwang's dream in which she sees her late husband coming to visit her, while riding a black cow.
She recognizes her dream as a sign that her death is coming, so she begins preparing for the inevitable.
However, in the middle of the ritual, she dies and a house of mourning turns into chaos in which her children quarrel over the assets Hwang left behind. The dead mother revisits the children to scold them and then returns to her afterlife.
The play describes the mourning house as the bridge between life and death, which reflects the traditional philosophy about death, which is naturally connected with life.
The story casts light on the humor latent in Korean culture. In the play, the paradoxical humor serves as a way to transform the somberness associated with death into a comic and festive event.
Lee, one of the nation's veteran playwrights and directors, was responsible for the play's successful debut in 1989.
The play has been seen by some 2.6 million people since its premiere. Regarded as a humorous and contemporary look at death through the Korean shamanistic ritual, the play was praised by many foreign reviewers as an exhilarating, charming and enjoyable work.
"Ogu" is a Korean traditional performing art, which combines drama and various traditional rituals through dance and song similar to mask dances and "madanggeuk", forms of Korean traditional outdoor performance.
Veteran traditional performance actor Ha Yong-bu, will take the role of the shaman in the play "Miryang Baekjungnori", which is designated as intangible cultural property No. 68. Miryang Baekjungnori is a special play performed by farmhands who, after working hard to farm the rice paddies and fields, are given a one-day holiday by the landowner.
"Ogu" was also adapted into a film version with the same title, cast and director in 2003.
It will be performed at the large-sized theater with 1,218 seats at Oulim Theater, The Oulim Nuri Arts Complex in Gyeonggi Province, April 4-13. Tickets cost from 15,000 to 30,000 won. For more information, call 1577-7766 or visit Open the link.
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