The Free9

In-Sook Chappell

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781350258457
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Drama
• Index: Literature

Nine teenagers flee North Korea, dreaming of a new life in the South. But the danger is far from over. With threats around every corner, perhaps the mysterious figure of Big Brother can help them? Or is he the very person they're running from? As their lives hang in the balance, could the teenagers' fate ultimately come down to a garish South Korean variety show? Inspired by a true story, this is the story of hope, escape and cultural difference. Originally commissioned as a play for the National Theatre Connections Festival 2018, this new single-text edition is published for the first time in Methuen Drama's Plays For Young People series. With a cast size of 10 plus an ensemble, its a perfect contemporary drama for young people to study and perform.

Glossary

abuji	father
annyonghasayo	hello
bingdu	crystal meth
daejang	leader
guhoso	detention centre for kotchebi
Joseon	North Korea
kotchebi	orphans who live on the streets
omoni	mother
shan shin ryong nim	good spirits who live in rocks and mountains
sool	alcohol
ttal	daughter

The Free9

BY IN-SOOK CHAPPELL

Notes on rehearsal and staging, drawn from a workshop with
the writer, held at the National Theatre, October 2017

How the writer came to write the play

‘I wrote another play about North Korea called P’yongyang and this play emerged from the research for that. A few years ago a friend took me to a screening of a film about North Korea from a human rights perspective. The film showed gruesome torture scenes, but what was fascinating was the atmosphere in the room: it was tense, electric. A woman at the end of my row fainted and collapsed.

‘I found out afterwards that there was a large North Korean defector community watching the film (there are around 1,000 North Korean defectors living in New Malden, South London). A few defectors told their story. Most North Korean stories are extremely harrowing and grim and after the third you start to switch off, which is why with this play I decided to find some lightness. If you have an audience you need to have some lightness and humour. If you are going to make people cry then you need to make them laugh as well.

‘In China there’s an Underground Railroad that will take defectors across the border into Vietnam and Laos. This network also airdrops Bibles into North Korea. I was raised a Christian, but I’m not really one now. If you’re found with a Bible in North Korea then you get sent to a camp. North Koreans know to look for the cross and that they have to pretend to be a Christian to escape. If you were starving and have to pretend to be a Christian then why wouldn’t you pretend? So you’re going to help people, but they have to be believers? It’s something I struggle with.

‘There’s one organisation called “Liberty in North Korea” which helps with no agenda – they aren’t Christian. ‘One particular article [“Nine North Korean Defectors” link in Suggested References, below] was the inspiration for The Free9. Through writing the play it turned into a piece of fiction. I heard from a Korean human rights friend that the two eldest had gone missing and it was feared that they were either in camps or had been executed.

‘Another reason for writing The Free9 is that North Korea is frequently portrayed as a joke, which I have a problem with. These are real people in real situations.

‘Apparently North Korea is awash with drugs – they make crystal meth and opium. Nearly all the women who escape are trafficked. They are either sold to Chinese farmers, brothels or web sites. I’ve made it quite subtle in the play, because of the potential ages of the actors. Mini is a web-girl and has been since she was eight. It’s pretty grim.

‘I’m very interested in the idea that Kim Jong-un is considered as everyone’s “mother”.

‘In an earlier draft of the play I had a Pastor, but there wasn’t really a place for him, and he conflated into Big Brother. The kids in The Free9 would have been in the lower social class, so in the north of the country where it’s harder to live. No electricity, no food etc

‘My views on performing East Asian characters as non-East Asian performers: you’re not taking any professional actor’s role so I don’t see a problem with it. This is one of the amazing things about youth theatre: it gives you the opportunity to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and imagine what it feels like to live someone else’s life. You cannot play race – if you’re a white person from Scotland then you can’t be North Korean. Use your own accent, but pronounce the Korean words correctly – Google is a good place to look that up.

‘What is it really like to grow up in an oppressive society where you can never speak your thoughts? There is a genuine belief that the Great Leader could read your mind.

So you were actually afraid to have your own thoughts as opposed to those which weren’t of the state. Those elements of growing up in North Korea are playable. That’s how you access the North Korean-ness, not by pretending to be Korean. I’ve written it in a way that is as universally playable as possible. So use what is playable, and leave aside elements which aren’t.

‘I hope that North Koreans will be thrilled that young people around the country are trying to understand and empathise with what they go through.

‘Now on My Way to Meet You is a show featuring North Korean defectors but is also a talent and beauty competition. This is the show which Mini is dreaming about. It’s huge in South Korea and watched a lot in China. They tell heart-breaking stories on this show and some end up being famous. Lots of North Korean defectors really want to get on this show and become reality stars, like Yeonmi Park, who was on the show. She gave a TED talk, spoke at the UN and has published a book.’

Creative challenges of the play

Amy Leach, lead director, asked the group to consider what they thought were the creative challenges of staging this work. The following things were raised:

•How is it best to get across to the audience where we are and when, and how important is it that they have that information?

•Discovering the ‘fantasy element’ of the play.

•Discovering the visual language of the play and making it consistent throughout.

•Images of self-harm and drugs in the play and being sensitive about how to rehearse and present that material.

•The technical elements – there are lots of exciting opportunities for transitions, set, lighting, sound, etc. How do you explore them on a very modest production budget?

•Gender is a part of the fabric of the play. How do you explore the gender balance if your group is not as described in the play?

•How do you present North Korean characters without being culturally insensitive?

•Discovering who The Forgotten are and ensuring they are absolutely fundamental to the play.

•How do you convey the difficulty of living in North Korea to an audience who might not know anything about it? How can you encourage the young actors to empathise with the characters from such a different world?

•Possibilities for cross-curricular exploration – geography, politics, history, etc.

•Maintaining the importance of imagination and hope, even in the darkest of times, and how to portray this.

•How to show the passage of time?

•Ensuring the correct pronunciation of words.

•Creating a connection between the content and the audience.

•Creating a powerful ensemble and encouraging discovery as a group.

Approaching the play

TIMELINE⁄JOURNEY

Amy reassured everyone that you don’t have to be an expert on North Korea to do this play. She led the participants through an exercise in building up the timeline and journey of the play. She brought in some maps of South-East Asia for the groups to look at and encouraged them to consider the exac...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Foreword
• Preface
• Contents
• The Free9
• Characters
• Scene One
• Scene Two
• Scene Three
• Scene Four
• Scene Five
• Scene Six
• Scene Seven
• Scene Eight
• Scene Nine
• Scene Ten
• Scene Eleven
• Scene Twelve
• Scene Thirteen
• Scene Fourteen
• Glossary
• eCopyright