Student actors from Soon Chun Hyang University, South Korea will join Wellesley College students at Wellesley College to perform The Winter’s Tale on November 15 at 7pm and November 16 at 2pm & 7pm. This intercultural co-production will be performed in English at the Ruth Nagel Jones Black Box Theatre, Alumnae Hall.
Besides this performance, Wellesley College students will travel to Soon Chun Hyang University in January 2025 for two performances on Jan. 10 & 11, 2025.
Tickets go on sale to the public November 6 at 8am. Buy Tickets
Introduction about The Winter’s Tale by production director, Hyon-u Lee:
“The intercultural co-production project of The Winter’s Tale with a foreign university and Soon Chun Hyang University first began in 2019, initially with Kyoto University. At that time, Japanese and Korean cultural elements replaced Sicilian and Bohemian motifs to approach the intercultural themes of The Winter’s Tale effectively. Currently, students from Wellesley College and Soon Chun Hyang University are presenting a more advanced intercultural adaptation of The Winter’s Tale. The SCH students portray the Bohemian sections of the play, integrating elements of namsadangpae, a traditional Korean traveling theatre, along with contemporary K-pop and dance, while the WC students reinterpret the Sicilian sections through American cultural motifs.
This creative reimagining highlights the cultural differences between Bohemia and Sicilia, reflecting the broader thematic contrast between chaos and order. Additionally, the production is performed gender-free, challenging traditional gender roles and adding fluidity to the characters’ relationships. By blending Korean and American cultures and transcending historical and gendered boundaries, the performance offers a unique interpretation of The Winter’s Tale that emphasizes its themes of misunderstanding, reconciliation, and harmony. This joint intercultural production not only showcases the artistic collaboration between students from two different cultural backgrounds but also serves as a pedagogical model for fostering cross-cultural understanding through performance. Ultimately, I hope that the staging process itself serves as a metaphor for the play’s central message of bridging differences to foster peace and unity, making the production a powerful celebration of cultural diversity and mutual respect.”
