Play 'Reversal' Reimagines Sumerian Goddess to Explore Family Loss
Creatrip Team
a month ago
Playwright Kim Ju-hee’s award-winning script 'Reversal' (역행기) — winner of the National Theatre of Korea’s new play contest — opens at Myeongdong Art Theatre next month. Drawing on the Sumerian myth of the goddess Inanna, the 200-minute production links the goddess’s descent to the underworld with three generations of Korean women living through modern hardships. Kim says she chose the lesser-known Sumerian myth because its clay tablet fragments felt “hot” and helped her vividly convey the pain of loss through imaginative, mythic language. Director Shin Jae-hoon praised Kim’s text and promised to preserve the writer’s language onstage, while designers use a sinking “room” set and immersive projections so the background actively “speaks” to characters. The creative team hopes the play transforms suffering into a source of renewed connection and strength for audiences. Performances run Mar. 3–13 at the National Theatre’s Myeongdong Art Theatre. (역행기: title of the play in Korean; Inanna: ancient Sumerian goddess)
