Shin Gu, Park Geun-hyung donate one night to next generation of theater artists
It’s not every day a theater production sells out instantly in Korea -- let alone one headlined by two octogenarian actors. But Shin Gu, 88, and Park Geun-hyung, 84, have done it again.
Tickets for their final run of “Waiting for Godot” were snapped up the moment they went on sale. The production runs from Friday through May 25 at the National Theater of Korea’s Daloreum Theater.
This farewell staging marks the end of a landmark collaboration that has captivated audiences since its 2023 premiere. From its debut at the National Theater in December 2023, to an encore run in 2024 and a 21-city national tour, the production has sold out 102 performances.
Samuel Beckett’s existential masterwork, a cornerstone of 20th-century absurdist theater, follows two vagabonds, Estragon (played by Shin) and Vladimir (Park), who wait and wait endlessly for a mysterious figure named Godot, who never arrives.
Shin and Park, long embraced as familiar father figures and steady on-screen mainstays, deliver an interplay onstage -- seasoned and rhythmic back-and-forth -- that has resonated deeply with audiences.
Both in their 80s, they aren’t exactly the usual stage heartthrobs -- but the actors credited the show's sold-out success to audiences in their 20s and 30s, a demographic not typically drawn to modernist absurdist drama.
“Young people today live in a world filled with absurdities,” Shin said during a recent press conference. “I think they connected with the play because the irrational world Beckett created feels close to their own.”
Park agreed. “Waiting for something that may not even exist -- isn’t that just like life? Especially for young people today,” he said. “That’s why we decided to dedicate one of our final shows as a donation performance -- to connect with them more directly.”
For that one-night benefit performance, scheduled for May 13, both actors waived their appearance fees. In addition, all proceeds from that performance, will be donated to a fund established by the Arts Council Korea, a national development agency for the arts of Korea, to support emerging theater artists.
“With all this love we’ve received, we wondered how we could give something back,” said Shin. “We wanted to return the favor -- not only with a good performance, but with something that might help younger artists in a meaningful way.”
The two said it was disheartening to see that the theater environment they experienced in their youth has changed so little even now.
“The arts need a strong foundation to grow,” Park added. “Just as a nation needs a solid base to stand upright. Now that we’re in the twilight of our lives -- physically and spiritually -- this is something we felt we had to do.”
“The theater world is, in truth, facing a difficult situation. Many actors working in this field are genuinely going hungry. According to statistics, 50 percent of theater actors earn less than 250,000 won ($180) a month purely from theater work,” said Arko Chairman Choung Byoung-gug.
“The seed money will grow into something larger. We’ll be launching a campaign to encourage broader donations, building on the generosity of these two great artists,” Choung added.
hwangdh@heraldcorp.com
