OH Se Hyuk (Playwright, Director. Co-creator of Gulpan.)
: The theatre activist who creates fun 

Currently, you are opening many productions as playwright and director and the work spans from small theatre plays to national theatre productions, outdoor festivals and commercial musicals. What was the starting point of all this and how did you get into theatre. 

I entered university in the year 2000, I saw a ‘madanggeuk’  after befriending the ‘poongmul’ club and became immersed in it. They were performing and telling stories of the world not on an actual stage but on the street, squares, at demonstrations and marches and just about anywhere. Not long afterwards, I created the theatre company Gulpan  with my ‘poongmul’ club friends and starting writing, directing and acting. The long and short pieces I had written since the creation of the company for the next five years in order to play them in a ‘non theatre’ context, came up to 125 pieces. After such a training process, I wrote the script for the stage and was short listed for the ‘Shinchun’ literary awards and received the Young Director’s award from the Miryang Theatre Festival that was founded by LEE Yoon Taek and thus stepped into Daehakro. From that point on, I alternated between small stage productions and ‘madanggeuk.’ It was the age of ‘stages,’ ‘scenes,’ and ‘squares.’ I quit acting from 2013, gave the reins of the company to a colleague and worked as a writer and director in everything that I felt like doing including, pansori, dance theatre, commercial plays and festivals. In 2016, I won the director’s award at the first Korean Musical Awards for Me, Natasha and the White Donkey, which was my very first musical theatre piece and in 2017 I directed Kim’s Convenience (Ins Choi) which was written by a Korean Canadian writer for the ‘Korean Diaspora’ series at the National Theater Company of Korea. 

So can you say that you have moved away from the ‘scene’ that got you into theatre in the first place? 

The theatre scene is a place that shows and conveys ‘what is needed in this age.’ I believe that the stage is also the scene. I am from Ansan and so is Gulpan. The current members of the drama team at a high school in Ansan, the students of which died tragically during the Sewol ferry accident, are preparing a play of mine. Through this, our scene moves its focus towards children and adolescents. This is also a plea for forgiveness on behalf of adults for creating such an accident. Even to this day, Gulpan performs every morning at an elementary school in Ansan. 
On the other hand, I feel as though the ‘madanggeuk’ itself is limited by its previous definitions of it. I felt strongly about redefining and expanding the concept of ‘madanggeuk’ and amongst my recent works there are those that can be performed in an outdoor(madang) setting and in the theatre as well. 

It seems as though ‘fun’ and ‘laughter’ are indispensable when it comes to defining the plays of Gulpan and the writer/director OH Se Hyuk. What is it that you are fundamentally looking for in your work?

The satirical aspect of the ‘madanggeuk’ is definitely maintained. After all, I started theatre because I was immersed in that very aspect of the ‘madanggeuk.’ 
My work motto is a quote from one of my favorites, the Japanese playwright and director, Inoue Hisashi, that emphasizes “telling a serious story in a not so serious matter.” Even when breaching such heavy subjects such as the Japanese occupation of Korea, the story of a conflict of two friends as farmer revolutionists, which was addressed in My friend, I will stand by you no matter what happens in this world (written/directed, 2013) and art as a political tool and censorship as portrayed in Goebbel’s theater (written, 2016). I would like to portray these important issues of today while keeping it funny and light.
The thing that had me mesmerized about the first ‘madanggeuk’ that I saw was the communication between the stage and the audience. It was like a church gathering or a collective ritual. I want people who are tired and unable to find solutions to their problems to share their energy and leave the theatre with an energy reboot. The world doesn’t change but I do want to make small changes in individuals. In the context of our small place of ritual and point of sharing energy, fun and laughter are essential.
In my recent work, I use the characters’ lines to shoot daggers at the world in plays that figuratively shoot daggers at the world. I try not to stay complacent by letting my ego take over, get lazy or blame the world or the audience. This is a question that I always ask myself in terms of my art and furthermore my very self. 

What is the reason you picked Old Boys’ Kingdom as your piece that best reflects this philosophy and direction? 

In 2014, the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, it was premiered as a part of the series ‘the children of Shakespeare,’ produced by LEE Yoon Taek. I contemplated on how to present something new out of Shakespeare’s material and incorporate my own style and that of my company, Gulpan. Eventually it occurred to me to let the epitome of tragedy that is Shakespeare and the epitome of comedy that is Cervantes, meet. That is how the ‘old boys’ of King Lear and Don Quixote met as friends on the same stage. Isn’t it typical of a Shakespeare play to feature more than 12 actors, speeches, sonnets, songs and all types of expression that are possible through text? As it was a tribute to Shakespeare, I emphasized those aspects in my piece. 

I get the impression that you are expanding towards other parts of Asia. 

A production of ‘Macbeth’ was made as a collaboration between Korea, China and Japan for the BESETO Festival  in 2016. One actor was casted for each country and a director from each country would direct a third of Macbeth each. I was appointed the Korean director and it was my first international co-production. This led my very own production of ‘Kingdom of old boys’ to tour Japan in 2017. The triple national production of Macbeth was invited to the 2017 Beijing BESETO festival.
The play I wrote, Goebbel’s theater(directed by LEE Eun Jun), will have a showcase after being selected for the 2017 PAMS Choice and a performance in Japan in already scheduled. Also, Me, Natasha and the White Donkey has been selected for the K-musical road show, which is organized by Korea Arts Management Service, and will thus showcase in China. I am also directing a musical that is joint funded by the Chinese government and the Ansan Cultural Foundation.