What do you think a happy ending is? Most dramas, movies and plays have two kinds of endings. A sad ending is one in which the main character dies or fails to get married to his or her lover, and a happy ending is one in which the main character finally achieves love. The play ‘Those Girls Eat Chicken Again’ which Tabaknae, a theater art research club of Chung-Ang University, performed, lowered the curtain by characters eating chicken together, as its title says. Moreover, after watching the play the audience said that it has a happy ending. How can they say that eating chicken while sitting around is a happy ending? CAH watched the play to find out the meaning of ‘chicken’ to the characters.

1.     All About the Play

a.     Characters

Yeon-soo: The only thing she learned while living with her mom, her only family member, for 25 years is vigor. She works in a bank and she is such a daring woman who reveals all her true feelings. She knows that she has different taste from her boyfriend Sung-gi, but thinks that he is very cool when he shows passion for his work.

Mom: It is quite certain that Yeon-soo’s bravery is from her mom. Like her daughter Yeon-soo, her vigor is her charm.

Jung-hee: She once was a play actress, and this made her be truthful in expressing her feelings. Though people around her say this expression is excessive, she never stops it. She is a tenderhearted character.

Sung-gi: He is the boyfriend of Yeon-soo, and is 7 years younger than her. He is always passionate in order to approach his dream. This is what Yeon-soo regards as his biggest charm.

b.     Synopsis

This play starts with Yeon-soo’s grumble that so many unfortunate things happened to her in a month. 29-year-old Yeon-soo is a bank teller who lives with her mom. For 25 years, she has always ended her day by eating chicken together with her mom and Jung-hee sitting around, in Jung-hee’s chicken restaurant. One day, the three of them find new joy by hearing that Yeon-soo’s mom received a proposal from Mr. Kang. In this way, these three women regard themselves as one family since they know one another very well. However, with the appearance of Yeon-soo’s father, who left his only daughter and wife a long time ago, the relationship of the three women is at stake. To make matters worse, a robber makes a raid on the bank where Yeon-soo works. Many things happen to the three of them for a month, but they eventually gather again at Jung-hee's restaurant to eat chicken.

c.     Interaction with the Audience

One of the most important factors in the play ‘Those Girls Eat Chicken Again’ is its constant communication with the audience. The main characters of the play, Yeon-soo and Seong-gi, more effectively deliver warnings and cause laughter at the same time by showing that they are in a situation comedy play. In addition, they are often guided between scenes by pointing at some of the people sitting, so that the audiences can participate in the play well. For example, there is a scene in which Sung-gi takes picture of people’s feet in the process of trying to achieve his dream to become a film director. At this time, Sung-gi does not only shoot the feet of characters in the play, but also the feet of the audience. He also says funny lines such as “Your feet smells so bad” and this makes audience members more interested and entertained. Like this, not only the actor’s acting, but also the audiences’ reactions and voices are important in the play. As a result, the audience is able to concentrate more on the play.

2.     All Different People

This drama-like play does not just show the characters’ everyday lives. If you look closely into the play, you can clearly see what it wants to convey to the audience. Jung-hee asks Yeon-soo why she does not break up with her boyfriend if their tastes are that different. In response, she replied that although he is really different, there is no reason to dislike being just different. Like this, the play constantly reminds us that people are all different. The main characters of the play, Yeon-soo, mom, and Jung-hee are all different people. However, every evening, they sit around, talk to each other, laugh and cry, and live every day together. This play is a fun depiction of what happens because they are all different people. Just as what Yeon-soo said, we should keep in mind that all people are different, and being different is not an important factor in human relationships.

3.     The Meaning of ‘Chicken’

The play begins with chicken, and ends with chicken. As there is ‘chicken’ in the title, the whole story seems to revolve around chicken. Yeon-soo, her mother, and Jung-hee, are also connected by chicken. Since they started eating chicken every night together since Yeon-soo was 4 years old, they have had a friendship of 25 years. Whether they were happy or sad, they shared their stories with one another while eating chicken. When Yeon-soo’s father’s unexpected appearance cracked their friendship, they did not gather at Jung-hee’s restaurant. At this time, Jung-hee brings chicken with the meaning of reconciliation to Yeon-soo’s mom. In this way, their friendship is healed with the help of chicken. Chicken, however, does not only show their friendship. The play also sent a message that people are all different. Some eat drumsticks of chicken, and some pick up wings. Some people dip radish into salt too. Characters' favorite parts of chicken is all different, and there are different ways of eating them. However, no one looks at one another with a distorted view. They never force their way on others, but rather try to understand them. The most important element of the play ‘Those Girls Eat Chicken Again’ shows the main characters’ friendship and their differences.

           This play is a family drama with no big crisis, unlike other stories. To pick one crisis, it is their friendship that was broken for a very short time, but was resolved quickly. The audience might not have taken this as a serious situation. However, they would have enjoyed the play, which did not have such a big event, and received the message that the play wanted to convey. Since the story was told with the very familiar theme of ‘chicken’, more and more people would be able to sympathize with the characters.

 

Dates and Times: 9/6 19:00, 9/7 16:00, 19:00, 9/8 15:00. 18:00