No apology needed for putting the spotlight on an international crime
Daniel Nelson
The subject of The Apology is hard to think about, but the play looks at a terrible truth and truths should not be ignored or forgotten.
It’s about the hundreds of thousands of women used as sex slaves by the Japanese army in World War Two, an atrocity Tokyo attempted to mask by employing the phrase “comfort women”.
That has to be one of the most misogynistic, ruthlessly calculated euphemisms in the history of warfare, a human activity with an almost unmatched reputation for using words and phrases that cover up the grim realitiers of conflict.
To capture the reality of a mass crime that affected so many people, theatre has to shrink international atrocity to individual and family drama. Easier said than done, but Korean journalist-turned-playwright Kyo Choi has succeeded. She even manages to keep the necessary exposition to a minimum.
Her short, intelligent, powerful play (her fourth on the subject of violence against women) focuses on Sun-Hee, the South Korean woman who dared to come forward to break the culture of shame that kept the crime out of the spotlight for decades, on Han Min, her conflicted husband, and on Priyanka Silva, the Sri Lankan investigator compiling a report for the United Nations.
A daughter, Han Yuna, who is unaware of her parents’ secret and Jock Taylor, an oleaginous US diplomat complete the two strands of the plot: family and UN investigation.
The inner conflicts of the characters make another strand, but only for the family: the investigator and the diplomat have fixed positions, which may be what attracts some people to politics.
The Ugly American is perhaps a little too pat for comfort. Amidst all the disturbing emotional complexities it’s reassuring to have at least one character to hiss and boo, but intellectually it would be more satisfying if the argument for realpolitik was put by a more prepossessing figure.
The sharp script is matched by excellent performances by the six actors, who breathe life into this compressed epic of death, injury and mass rape.
Before the ending I was wondering how Choi would find a way of allowing us to leave the theatre on a positive or hopeful note. She does, just.
Essential viewing.
* The Apology, from £12, is at the Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin Street, E8, 15 September-8 October. Info: 7503 1646/ https://www.arcolatheatre.com/whats-on/the-apology-2/
+ https://www.eventslondon.org/recommended/uncomfortable-truths-about-sexual-violence-against-women Uncomfortable truths about sexual violence against women