Actress and former K-pop girl group April member Lee Na-eun will make her stage acting debut in the upcoming Korean production of the play "Closer."
Written by British playwright Patrick Marber, "Closer" follows the tangled relationships of four people — Larry, Anna, Dan and Alice — amid love, obsession and betrayal in 1990s London. The play was adapted into a 2004 film of the same title starring Natalie Portman.
Lee will play Alice, an attractive but enigmatic stripper, alternating the role with Jeon Seong-min and So Ju-yeon in a triple cast.
Lee said she had long been a fan of the film adaptation.
"I liked the movie so much that I watched it often," she said at a press conference for the play held Wednesday in Seoul's Daehangno area. "When I was offered the opportunity to take part in the production, I revisited the work and found it to be such an attractive piece that I did not hesitate to choose it for my first play."
On the challenges of making her stage debut, Lee said she saw the production as an opportunity to take on something new.
"Rather than feeling burdened by having to perform various scenes, such as smoking, because this is my first time doing theater, I see it as a new challenge and a good opportunity to show a different side of myself," she said.
Several other cast members will also make their theatrical debuts with the production, including So as Alice and Hong Jong-hyun as Dan.
Hong said he was drawn to the story because its characters and themes did not feel far removed from the present day.
"It is a story about people who are not so distant from us today," he said. "Although this is my first play, I thought that was precisely why it might be worth taking on the challenge."
“Closer” will run from Sept. 15 through Dec. 6 at Yes24 Stage 2 in Seoul.
hwangdh@heraldcorp.com
