Review: THE HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT OF THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED at Daehakro Jayu Theater

Without any specific announcements, the lights are dimmed out, leaving the audience in confusion. Then suddenly, the light turns on stage and one of the actors step out of a window. The minute his foot is almost out of the window frame and audiences begin to wonder if this is really the start of the show, actors appear on the stage. Then, with a big smile, one of the actors say, "Surprise, this is not the start of the show," and begins to talk about each of their role and how this show is an interactive form. Confusion and excitement, those were the two keywords that popped up in my head when just seeing 10 minutes of the play and without any suspicion, I knew with an instinct that this show was going to be phenomenal.

THE HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT OF THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED is based on the original book written by Jonas Jonasson. This best-selling novel was later adapted into a movie in 2013 and is now made into a play for the first time. Already well-known duo, Korean writer Jiesun and director Taehyung Kim came together to change this novel into a play that could be enjoyed by people of all age and gender. They decided to take an unconventional way by breaking down the 4th wall and make sure that the audience knows that they are clearly seeing a show. However, instead of stating that "oh, hello, we are doing a play," they emphasize the importance of how play functions and what we can learn from it. Also, they took another step and cast different gender for the same role. Not only that, since there are more than 10 characters in the story and only 5 actors, each actor plays more than one role during the entire show, regardless of gender and age. So it's fascinating to see how the actors switch in between characters.

There are many unique points of THE HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT OF THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED. First of all, as mentioned there is no distinction between gender and age of the actors. Each of the actors is named Allan, Allan 1, Allan 2, Allan3, and Allan 4. They use name tags to show who they are playing at the moment. These name tags play a huge role in the entire play because they act as invisible "characters." When the actor puts one of the name tags inside a box or tosses them off stage, it means that character is deleted. Not only is there no distinction between gender and age, some actors even portray animals. One of the important animals, Sonya the Elephant is portrayed in a rather delightful way, so make sure to open your eyes wide, when you hear the trumpeting sound of her.

Another interesting point of THE HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT OF THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED is that there is no invisible wall between the actors and the audience. Starting from the intro scene, the actors directly state how they are tools to describe Allan's life. Not only that, during the show, there are lines where actors would call each other with their real names and interact with the audience. Also, the actors physically move a lot in the theater, thus using more than just the stage area. Jayu Theater is a rather small venue compared to other theaters, so it is much more convenient for actors to run off stage and vice versa.

Last but not least, there are so many intricate details in the play. Allan is an avid traveler; he journeys through Sweden, stops by in Spain, befriends somebody in Russia, has a drink with the vice president in the USA, and even manages to go to North Korea. Realistically, this is a very hard detail to express in a show, considering the limited space. However, the director and writer used a very minor but effective detail, which is each country's traditional dance and expression used for toast. So, during the 150 minute running time, not only are you watching a show but you can learn more than 3 different types of dance and language.

One thing that the show could improve in is the balance between the first act and second act. The first act has a bit of more comedic focus, so rather than explaining the storyline in depth, it's more on expressing the characters. However, the second act focuses more on the depth of the story and the overall meaning. Therefore, for people who are not familiar with the book or movie, it may be hard to grasp the storyline during the first act.

THE HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT OF THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED is a phenomenal play. Not only with how they chose to make it into a one of a kind performance, the show was more like a piece of art. It clearly shows that to touch the audience's heart, you don't need an extravagant set, intricate props, and superstar actors. All you need is the sincerity of what you want the audience to feel. For me, the show was new and interesting but the sincerity was what really touched me.

THE HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT OF THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED plays in Jayu Theater until September 2nd. Tickets can be bought on online at www.globalinterpark.com or offline at the ticket booth. The price of the tickets is 50,000 and there are many discounts provided. Be sure to check the cast and discounts prior to buying the show.

For more information, please visit www.globalinterpark.com.

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