National Theater Company of Korea Revives Play 'His Mother' Starring Jin Seo-yeon

The play 'His Mother,' which depicts the difficulties faced by the family of an offender, will return to the stage with actress Jin Seo-yeon, two years after its last run. The play spotlights the life of Brenda, a successful architect, whose life unravels when her 17-year-old son is placed under house arrest on charges of sexually assaulting three young girls. Inspired by a real-life incident, the work deeply explores the adolescent offender, his mother, and their relationship, sharply capturing the moments when a mother's love begins to change.

Playwright Evan Placey conceived 'His Mother' based on his experience participating in a youth theater project. He stated, "It's easy to feel that the crimes we hear about in the news are unrelated to us, but in reality, they could happen to our own families," and expressed his desire to explore this possibility through the play. He emphasized, "In criminal cases, the focus is often on the victim and their family, but the realities faced by the offender and their family are not well-known. We aimed to explore that aspect multidimensionally."

However, 'His Mother' does not focus on the offender himself but rather on the narrative of his family, particularly his mother, Brenda. Brenda becomes the 'mother of a monster' as the media portrays her son as such, and her younger son also becomes a scapegoat, suffering bullying at school due to his brother's crime. The entire family is victimized.

Placey explained that as a playwright, he focuses on prompting the audience to analyze characters and form their own judgments rather than directly empathizing with them. He believes it's important to ask questions that don't have easy answers, stating that a script with clear answers would be boring.

Evan Placey commented, "I continue to ponder how society can rehabilitate and foster empathy for marginalized and forgotten individuals." He added, "The complex emotions felt by these characters are what make the audience continue to think and question, which is the essence and role of theater."