Actress Kim Sun-young takes on formidable role of mother torn by complex emotions
A teenage boy commits three rapes in a single night. While he remains under de facto house arrest, the media dredge up past school incidents, and reporters camp outside his home.
Public outrage mounts, yet his mother fights to have him sentenced as a juvenile, ensuring a lighter punishment.
How far can a mother go in defending and protecting a son who has committed such a horrific crime? And can she still love him? Where should her allegiances lie?
The National Theater Company of Korea is set to present the Korean premiere of Evan Placey's tight domestic drama "Mother of Him" at the Daloreum Theater of the National Theater of Korea in Seoul, from April 2-19.
Having premiered in London in 2010, "Mother of Him" follows Brenda, the mother of the teenage perpetrator, as she grapples with the weight of her son’s crimes.
Taking on the challenging role of formidable single mother is veteran actress Kim Sun-young, known for her commanding presence in supporting roles. She has received multiple accolades, including the Baeksang Arts Award for best supporting actress for "Crash Landing on You" (2019), the same award for "Three Sisters" (2021) at both the Baeksang Arts Awards and the Blue Dragon Film Awards, and for "Concrete Utopia" (2023) at the Daejong Film Award.
This play marks her return to the stage after seven years, following her last stage appearance in "Nassim" (2018).
Speaking at a rehearsal studio at Hongik Art Center in Seoul on Wednesday, Kim reflected on her decision to return to theater.
"A couple of years ago, I realized I needed to take the time to really 'study' and go deeper into my craft,” she said.
“Because while filming dramas and movies, I started to worry that I would burn out if I kept going like this. Theater demands that you deliver your best performance night after night, no matter what. To sustain that, you need an unshakable foundation, and that requires training. I had been waiting for the right opportunity, so when the National Theater Company reached out, I immediately said yes. The play itself is so intense that you have no choice but to fully immerse yourself in it.”
Despite three decades of acting experience, Kim acknowledges the complexity of portraying a mother whose son has committed such a heinous crime.
“With just two weeks until opening night, I’m still struggling with the final scenes,” she admitted. “This character is dealing with such a mix of emotions -- anger at her son, guilt over how she raised him, a desperate hope that maybe there’s some hidden truth, frustration at the world’s condemnation. It’s all so conflicting."
"Theater is ultimately literature, and the answers are in the script, but there’s no definitive solution. I keep reading and re-reading the text, studying it relentlessly. If I had studied like this back in school, I might have gotten into Seoul National University,” she said.
Kim’s decision to take on the role was also influenced by her long-standing relationship with director Ryu Joo-yeon.
The two first met in 1999 through the Performing Arts Academy, a training program run by the Arts Council Korea, and later collaborated in the 2007 play "Gyeongnam Changnyeong-gun Gilgok-myeon."
The play’s perspective -- focusing on the parent of a perpetrator rather than a victim -- is an emotionally fraught and often overlooked subject, according to the director.
“I think our understanding of suffering is expanding in a way. When we think of a victim’s parents, we imagine the immense pain they have to endure. But when it comes to the perpetrator’s parents, both outsiders and the parents themselves are put in an extremely difficult position. This play attempts to unravel that psychological turmoil,” Ryu said.
English subtitles are provided on Thursdays and Sundays, except April 13.
hwangdh@heraldcorp.com
