| Rasaq Kukoyi, left, as William and Kim Min-ju as Ji-young in a scene from the play 'Orange Polar Bear' / Courtesy of National Theater Company of Korea |
Korea, UK join hands for play 'Orange Polar Bear'
By Kwon Mee-yoo
"Orange Polar Bear," a play currently on view at the Baek Seonghui & Jang Minho Theater in central Seoul, embraces anyone who thinks one is not the center of interest but on the periphery.
Co-produced by the NCCK, Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Hanyong Theatre, "Orange Polar Bear" revolves around two teenagers living halfway across the world from each other ― Ji-young in South Korea and William in the U.K.
The girl lives in an apartment on the 15th floor with her always busy father and grandmother. Her parents divorced and she hasn't seen her mother for 13 years. While she is stuck somewhere between being a child and a woman, her friend Tae-hee matures early and is chosen to become a trainee at a popular entertainment agency. Amid her struggles, the girl acquires her mother's new address and embarks on a journey to find her.
The boy immigrated to England and his mother works any job she can get her hands on to make a living for the two. He strives to survive with his new identity as an immigrant, but he is an outcast in school. He makes friends with a girl named Sarah, who wants to run away from the world.
Despite their different situations, the girl and the boy have one thing in common ― they are both invisible in school. The play compares the two confused teenagers as polar bears drifting on melting Arctic icebergs.
As they sense each other in an inexplicable way, they find each other in a strange time and space isolated from reality. Ji-young and William realize they are alike.
The play was born through a youth play development project between Korea and the United Kingdom started in 2014. Writers Ko Sun-duck and Evan Placey visited both countries to make the play and it reflects the voices of the Korean and British teenagers who took part in the development process.
The play is performed in English and Korean. The girl and the boy mysteriously understand each other perfectly without translations, but for the audiences, subtitles are partially provided according to the director's intentions.
Kim Min-ju plays Ji-young and Rasaq Kukoyi plays William.
After the Seoul run through Oct. 21, the production will travel to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in the United Kingdom from Nov. 1 to 18.
For more information, visit www.ntck.or.kr or call 1644-2003.