‘Good Doctor’ director Kim Seung-cheol “Focuses on humanism rather than comedy” [MK Site]

Neil Simon’s comedy ‘The Good Doctor’ finds its audience.

On the afternoon of the 6th, a press call for the play ‘Good Doctor’ was held at the S Theater at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Director Kim Seung-cheol and actors Kim Soo-hyun, Kim Gwi-seon, Won-jo Won, and Seung-woo Lee attended the meeting that followed the highlight scene demonstration.

‘The Good Doctor’ is a play adapted from Russian writer Anton Chekhov’s short stories in omnibus format. It is a work by legendary Broadway writer Neil Simon, who left behind masterpieces such as ‘The Odd Couple’ and ‘Barefoot in the Park,’ and has been performed all over the world since it premiered on Broadway in 1973.

Director Kim Seung-cheol said, “‘The Good Doctor’ is such a well-known work that almost no one who plays plays knows about it. Known not only by students but also by club members. It is generally recognized as a light comedy. But in fact, ‘The Good Doctor’ is not a work that can be laughed lightly and sensuously. It is a work that contains the deep lingering emotions contained in Seekhov’s original work. “I think Neil Simon also captured that aspect well and made it into a play,” he said.

He continued, “The poetic theater company’s long-standing repertoire is the essence of theater, and we wanted to present a qualitatively complete and close-to-original play to the audience, so ‘The Good Doctor’ was also included in the lineup. “With my deep affection for ‘The Good Doctor’ and my deep respect for the original work, I agreed to the selection of the repertoire without hesitation,” he explained.

Also, “It is a method in which the writer gets tired of writing and is about to give up when an idea comes to him and he clings to it and tells the story to the audience. The stage was created because the artist’s speech bubbles looked similar to the frames of a theater. He added, “He tried to capture the scene as if he were holding a microscope and express it on stage.”

In this performance, a total of 8 chapters are performed, including ‘Sneezing’, ‘Tutor’, ‘Dentist’, ‘Late Happiness’, ‘The Drowning Man’, ‘Birthday Gift’, ‘Nowhere to Rely on’, and ‘Audition’. Selected and presented.

Director Kim said, “Of the eight works, ‘Late Happiness’ and ‘Audition’ are Neil Simon’s original works. “I think there was a story I wanted to add while adapting ‘The Good Doctor’ into a play,” he said. “So, a total of eight works were selected to be performed.”

Lastly, Director Kim said, “Usually, comedy is done for satire, but this work is not something to just laugh at. “It is a work that emphasizes humanism rather than comedy,” he said. “There was no intention to satirize the social situation or absurdity of the present era, and the focus was on the work’s perspective on humans. “When the audience sees the work, they will be able to feel affection for all the characters that appear in the eight episodes,” he said.

The play ‘Good Doctor’ will be performed at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts’ S Theater until November 12th.

[Shin Young-eun, Star Today reporter]