As the second of South Korea’s two productions at the 1st Cebu International Theatre Festival, “The Rain” is an unflinchingly human tale of love’s shadowy depths and the relentless sacrifices demanded in the pursuit of wealth and power.
The story follows two couples residing in a secluded hamlet. Chun-sim (Lee hyun-ji) offers her body to affluent Officer Lee (Kim eung-hyeong) in order to support her sick, oblivious husband (Kim gyeong-min). Ne’er-do-well Chun-ho (Kim hyun-jun) violates his wife’s (Woo hyeon-ji) dignity until she is able to provide for them. All this is backdropped by the foreboding narration of a crazed Bok-nyeo (Kim mi-a).
“The Rain” is nothing short of the inventive, unique, and progressive plays Theater Domo is known for in South Korea. While its style is experimental, it is rooted to the human condition at its very core. For example, “The Rain” uses chairs, bridges, and wells not only to set a provincial tone but also to communicate the rigidity and emptiness experienced by the desperate men and women who depend on the power that be who keeps them in poverty.
This is to be expected from a company that has been awarded at the Gyeongbuk Festival among many and a director who is regarded as a modern pioneer with his immersive theatrical experiences. Hwang is also the producer of this year’s Cebu International Theatre Festival.
If not only for the title, “The Rain” trickles its way to the skin of Filipino trauma. A country riddled with corruption and still hesitant to legalize divorce is the perfect target audience for a production that shows how the current of marriage can rope one into inescapable depths.
“The Rain” is the third out of the nine productions in the 1st Cebu International Theatre Festival. In the coming days, a slate of productions from Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, and the Philippines will be staged across Cebu.
The schedule and more details are available on the official Cebu International Theatre Festival Facebook page.
