[수완뉴스=육주현 기자] The highly acclaimed production, which garnered a 9.8 audience rating in 2023, will return in June 2024, hotter than ever on a hot summer day.
A long gun that ‘pierced’ history and a writer who only wanted to ‘use’ history meet! The erased story of a ‘worn-out long gun’ that questions the era of ‘consuming’ history will be performed from June 18 to September 8 at Yes24 Artwon 1.
In June 2024, the repertory play “Banya,” which was selected as the 2022 New Work of the Year by the Arts Council Korea, the grand prize winner of the 61st K-Theater Awards, and selected as one of the “Best 7 Performances of 2023” in the monthly “Korean Plays” in 2023, will return to Yes24 Art One for the first time in almost two years and will be performed on Daehak-ro. The play, which tautly unravels the vastness of Korea’s modern history into several drama episodes and immerses the audience in an absorbing composition, will present a story full of emotions through the stories of the main characters in each story and the actors’ passionate performances.
The play Banya is written by Kim Eun-sung and tells the story of Nana, a failed drama writer, who meets Banya, an old 99-style rifle, while searching for a screenplay. A ‘worn-out long gun’ that was present in the vivid scene of history, but was pushed to the background in the flow of history, appears on the stage as a character rather than a prop, retelling Korean modern history from behind the scenes. This performance will make the audience think about the meaning of the 99-style rifle in the times that have passed.
The play will be directed by Kim Tae-hyung, who, as in previous seasons, has established himself as a unique director at the university with new attempts and challenges in each of his works, including the musicals Fan Letter, Ridge, and The Musical I’m Making for the First Time Today, and the plays The Helmet, Bunker Trilogy, History Boys, and Orphans.
The play Banya, a story that depicts the process of a struggling drama writer’s struggle to write for a broadcast after meeting the subject of a 99-shot rifle, with a groundbreaking theatrical composition, received an audience rating of 9.8 on Interpark, and was praised as the best play of 2023. In particular, audiences who saw the show said, “You’ll regret not seeing it!” and “Solid story, great music, and top-notch actors.”
After nearly two years of waiting, Banya, which is set to open on June 18, 2024, has once again become the center of attention, unveiling a poster and a 21-strong cast, promising to be even more complete than its premiere with a new combination.
Park Sung-hoon, Jeon Sung-woo, Park Jung-won, Hong Seung-an, Kim Kook-hee, and Jeon Sung-min will be joining the cast of Banya in June 2024, marking the return of the hit play. In addition, last season’s audience favorites Lee Jin-hee, Oh Dae-seok, Kim Se-hwan, Kim Ji-hye, Jin Chorok, and Choi Jung-woo have confirmed their roles, while Park Dong-wook, Kim Min-seong, Song Sang-hoon, Heo Young-sohn, Geum Bomi, Lee Seo-hyun, Kim Seul-ki, Park Soo-ya, and Kwak Dain will join the cast to bring the story to the college campus this summer.
In February 1945, the last mainstay of Japanese imperialism was produced at the Incheon armory. The role of ‘Bunya’, who meets drama writer Nana while lying neglected in the darkness of the warehouse, will be played by actor Park Sung-hoon, who has shown a different side of himself on the big screen and stage in dramas such as ‘The Glory’, ‘Nam Nam’, ‘Queen of Tears’, and plays such as ‘Pride’ and ‘History Boys’, and will return to the theater stage after seven years to show his wide range of performances. He has acted in many dramas such as , , and the musical “Maybe a Happy Ending”; actor Jeon Sung-woo, who has shown his unparalleled ability to portray characters in numerous plays and musicals, including the drama, “Oh! Samgwang Villa!”, the play “Nature of Targeting”, and the musical “Maybe a Happy Ending”; actor Park Jung-won, who impressed audiences in the musicals “Langbo”, “Smoke”, and “Bear the Musical”; and actor Hong Seung-an, who has been loved by audiences for his stable performances in the musicals “A Praise of Death”, “Smoke”, and the play “R & J”.
Playing the role of ‘Nana’, a struggling dramatist who repeatedly fails to form a group, is actress Lee Jin-hee, who has shown a wide range of acting in the dramas ‘VIP’ and ‘Police Station Next to the Fire Station’, the play ‘Bunker Trilogy’, and the musical ‘Those Days’, and actors Kim Kook-hee, who has shown a wide range of acting in the dramas ‘Suite Home’ and ‘Moving’, and the play ‘The Helmet’, Actors Kim Kook-hee, who is recognized for his diverse character variations and bold performances in the musicals Red Book and Laundry, and Jeon Sung-min, who overwhelms the audience with his presence alone through the musicals Ridge, Bronte, and Bernarda Alba, are the other pillars of the performance, raising expectations.
The play unfolds at a fast pace in the form of a drama in which the main character is changed every time by Nana, who tells the stories of the past owners of the vast modern history of Banya. Actors Oh Dae-seok, Park Dong-wook, Kim Min-sung, Song Sang-hoon, Kim Se-hwan, Heo Young-son, Geum Bomi, Kim Ji-hye, Jin Cho-rok, Lee Seo-hyun, Kim Seul-ki, Park Soo-ya, Choi Jung-woo, and Kwak Dain will play multiple roles as the past owners of ‘Bap-ya’ through various events in the big flow of modern history, and will enrich the stage by becoming the past owners of ‘Bap-ya’ and surrounding characters.
The play “Bunya” will showcase the timeless story and its message with a high level of theatrical quality through the performances of unrivaled actors.
The play “Banya,” which opens in June, will be performed at Yes24 Art One 1 from June 18 (Tue) to September 8 (Sun), 2024, and more information about the performance can be found on Embizet Company X (formerly Twitter): @mbz_company and Instagram: @mbz_company. (Performance inquiry 02-6956-5699)
육주현 기자
