[KS] "The Road to Mecca" via Taehangno

[Frank M. Tedesco]

>      07-16-98 : `The Road to Mecca' Shows Importance of Trust
>      in Human Relationships
> 
>      By Kim Ji-soo Staff reporter
> 
>      Fifteen years ... 12 hours and 800 miles ... 80 miles.
> 
>      That is how long ``The Road To Mecca'' is for each woman in the
>      play, now being staged at the Sungjwa Theater in Taehangno,
>      central Seoul by Toknip Theater, through Aug. 2.
> 
>      It takes Helen, the main character, 15 years to reach her
>      ``mecca'' in this play by South African playwright Athol Fugard.
> 
>      Another character Elsa travels 12 hours and 800 miles to New
>      Bethesda in South Africa to help Helen finish her ``trip.'' On
>      the way to Helen's hometown, Elsa tells a story of how she gave a
>      lift to a black woman and then dropped her off, leaving the woman
>      80 miles left on her trip in the pouring rain. The black woman
>      was chased away from her hometown when her husband died.
> 
>      These references to distance and time highlight the play, which
>      is about finding oneself through pilgrimage. The play, written by
>      Fugard in his later years, however, shows the history of South
>      Africa and its legacy of prejudice.
> 
>      The 66-year-old playwright has dealt with the white-black
>      conflict through various works, including ``The Family,''
>      ``Master Harald ... and the Boys,'' and ``A Lesson From Aloes.''
> 
>      But in his latest work, he sheds light on the darkness of
>      prejudice by inversely using trust as the theme.
> 
>      ``This work shows how trust is important in human
>      relationships,'' Chun Kyung-ja, who plays the lead character
>      Helen, said.
> 
>      Trust is alive and grows between the two female characters, Helen
>      and Elsa. Helen, a white widow, is subtly ostracized in a South
>      African town for doing sculptures instead of being an ardent
>      churchgoer. Elsa, a white schoolteacher, teaches at a black
>      school.
> 
>      The town tries to send Helen to a nursing home, but Elsa
>      encourages Helen to refuse and stay to keep her home.
> 
>      Trust is stagnant and dying between Helen and her longtime
>      friend, Reverend Marius.
> 
>      Rev. Marius strongly urges Helen to sign to a paper, giving away
>      her home and holdings to the town, so she can go to the
>      ``sunshine home for the elderly.''
> 
>      Through the story where trust both dies and is strengthened, the
>      actors play out the writer's intention that trust can only
>      flourish when there is no prejudice.
> 
>      It is the third time that ``The Road to Mecca,'' which was first
>      published in 1985, has been staged since its performances in 1993
>      and 1995. It is also the third time for Chun, who translated
>      Fugard's work, to play Helen.
> 
>      Chun is a professor of English Literature at Catholic University.
>      She is now on leave to teach at Harvard University. She has
>      returned for the summer to stage the work. Her co-actors are also
>      teachers. Lee Hyun-woo, who plays Rev. Marius, is an assistant
>      professor at Sunchun-hyang University.
> 
>      For those interested in Fugard's works, the production may be the
>      only chance to see it. Fugard's work, although translated, has
>      not been published. For more information, call 745-3966.
> 
>      [Image]
> 
>            Copyright 1998 Korea Herald. All right reserved.
>                      Designed by ISM Corporation
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/kh0716/m0716c01.html

-- 


Frank Tedesco, Ph.D.
Occasional lecturer, University of Maryland
Assistant Professor
Sejong University
98 Kunjadong, Kwangjin-gu
Seoul 143-747 KOREA
Tel/fax: 82-2-997-3954
E-mail: tedesco at uriel.net

"Life is a terminal disease, and it's sexually transmitted."
John Cleese, the Buddhist.


%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%