Ten Years Later

   
LAUGHTER OF three women makes an echo inside the whole theater. They are laughing so hard that they have tears around their eyes. "Although life is different from our expectation, we still have to move on!"says Hee-nam. "Yeah! Even if there are people who are driving you crazy, you can still overcome them," replies Soo-jin. "I completely agree with you guys," answers Joo-rhee. They put hands together as if making a solemn promise, and keep on laughing. Why are they laughing so hard?

About "Ten Years Later"
Directed by Ban Moo-sub and written by Kim Min-jung, Ten Years Later was created from Woori yeongeuk mandeulgi (Creating Our Plays). To return the love they have received, an encore has been performed starting July 15 at Valentine Theater, Daehak-ro. Three women's frank life stories arouse sympathy among the female audience, who outnumber the males.

What are the ladies talking about?
Hee-nam, Soo-jin and Joo-rhee are college mates who used to love the same guy. They had made a promise to meet each other ten years later and today is the day. Waiting for their sweetheart to appear, these women begin to talk about their memories of the past and their individual love stories. As their life stories continue, however, each of them comes to notice that their lives weren't always as perfect as they appeared to be. Soo-jin is taking antidepressants to withstand the stress that from her husband's extra marital relationship. Joo-rhee also finds it difficult to maintain a happy marriage because she is in love with another man. Last, Hee-nam is constantly feeling lonely because she hasn't met the right person to share the rest of her life, and stressed out from her work. Although they had different patterns of lives and had valued different life styles, they come to a point where they truly understand each other by heart.

Hope in reality
It is evident that people can't always be happy and have everything they dream of. "Life can't always be the way you please" is how the characters define life. And this is how we define it also. It might seem as if the ladies are resigning from the reality but by saying it out loud, it lightens the burden on their life and gives them the power to face painful reality. "Reality is full of hardships but it is important to mesmerize ourselves into believing that tomorrow will be better. It's essential to hope for the future because reality without hope is sometimes too tough to deal with," says Joung Yi-soon, performing Hee-nam.

Fascinating features
People might think that the play is gloomy because it deals with hardships of lives. However, the play features various scenes and dramatic events to make the play more interesting. In re-acting the play they have performed in college, they sing and dance hilariously and make the audience laugh. Also, their frank talks about men, love, and sex make people's heart clear and brisk. Since the characters are in their thirties, they seem to have experienced almost every stressful and troublesome event. Moreover, the fast changing gloomy and comical scenes draw the audience into the play.

Simple but effective
The conspicuous thing in this play is the modern stage, which has simple, black decorations. A table, four chairs, wine bottles and glasses are just about everything on the stage. The simple and neatly organized stage helps the actors to have a virtual conversation, and makes the audience focus on their acting. In this way, the theme of the play can be delivered more effectively.


   
Closing notes
There is no real answer to a perfect life. In contrast, the fact that life is full of hardships and that people struggle to carry on with their lives is clear to everyone. If you are having a hard time seeing your future positively and are willing to have an indirect experience about life, this play will give you the answers. Want to participate in the lady's conversation? Enjoying Ten Years Later will be the right thing to do.

저작권자 © The Yonsei Annals 무단전재 및 재배포 금지