A female 'Hamlet': 'Gender-fluid' Korean Shakespeare production opens in Seoul

A Korean adaptation of "Hamlet" (c. 1599-1601) opened its curtains on Friday at Myeongdong Theater in Jung District, central Seoul.

From left: Playwright Jeong Jin-sae, actor Lee Bong-ryeon and director Bu Sae-rom pose during a press conference for the National Theater Company of Korea's latest adaptation of ″Hamlet″ at Myeongdong Theater in central Seoul on Monday. [NATIONAL THEATER COMPANY OF KOREA]

A Korean adaptation of "Hamlet" (c. 1599-1601) opened its curtains on Friday at Myeongdong Theater in Jung District, central Seoul.

But it wasn't just a translation of the classic Shakespearean tragedy. This time, the titular character is female. And there’s a strikingly heavy use of water on stage as well.

Played by actor Lee Bong-ryeon, Hamlet is a princess and former naval officer who plots revenge against her uncle Claudius, who killed Hamlet’s father to seize the throne and marries Hamlet's mother Gertrude. Hamlet's love interest, Ophelia, has been changed into a man.

Many of the other characters, including Guildenstern, Horatio and Marcellus, have also been changed into female roles as well.

The idea to change Hamlet into a female didn't derive from some grandiose goal to drastically transform the screenplay. Rather, director Bu Sae-rom and playwright Jeong Jin-sae felt that it was the best way to get rid of the misogynistic elements in the original play and upgrade the story to fit modern times.

"There were a lot of concerns on how we were going to change the discomforting aspects that are considered sexist today," Bu said during a press conference at the theater on Monday.

"We did have the option of leaving Ophelia as a female and portraying a homosexual love story, but we realized that the story would get much more complicated than it already is," she added. "The ultimate goal was to get rid of any constraints that a certain character must be a male or female, which is why we cast the roles in a gender-fluid way."

The updated “Hamlet” goes beyond the dichotomy of the sexes, but also the theme of good and evil, in contrast to the original. The adaptation aims to justify the behaviors of each character by showing how they had no choice but to follow their self-interest in an attempt to encourage the audience to contemplate on the essence of human nature.

A scene from the National Theater Company of Korea's adaptation of ″Hamlet,″ starring actor Lee Bong-ryeon as the titular character, center [NATIONAL THEATER COMPANY OF KOREA]

“Hamlet” was initially supposed to premiere in 2020, as part of commemorating the National Theater Company of Korea’s 70th anniversary, but due to the pandemic, it was only shown online. Lee won Best Actress for Theater at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards for her role in “Hamlet” in 2021.

Not much about the production and script has changed since then, Bu said, but it certainly is more touching now that it’s finally on the offline stage.

When asked why there isn’t an intermission for the 135-minute long play, Bu said simply, “We didn’t see the need for one.”

“Hamlet” is performed every day except Tuesdays until July 29. On weekdays, shows start at 7:30 p.m. and on weekends, 3 p.m. English subtitles are provided on Thursdays and Sundays, except for July 21. Tickets are sold out as of Monday.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]