Produced by the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center and based on South Korean author Cho Nam-joo’s international bestseller “Kim Ji-young, Born 1982,” a new stage drama will grace the Shenzhen Poly Theater in August.

A poster for the stage drama "The Her We Become." Courtesy of Shenzhen Poly Theater

Helmed by Hong Kong-based playwright, director, actor and producer Roy Szeto, with an adapted script by Wen Fangyi, “The Her We Become” is a stage tribute to every ordinary woman of our time. It explores the struggles of women in a patriarchal society, highlighting issues of gender discrimination and mental health.

The power of this work lies not in telling a thrilling story, but in presenting those small yet omnipresent “pains of everyday life” — pains that may be experienced by any woman in East Asian society.

In a small, tidy apartment on the outskirts of the frenzied metropolis of Seoul, lives Kim Ji-young. A “millennial everywoman” in her 30s, she has recently left her white-collar desk job to care for her newborn daughter full-time — as so many Korean women are expected to do.

But she soon begins to exhibit strange symptoms that alarm her husband, parents, and in-laws: Kim impersonates the voices of other women — both alive and dead, known and unknown to her. As she plunges deeper into this psychosis, her discomfited husband sends her to a male psychiatrist.

In a chilling, eerily detached third-person voice, Kim’s entire life is recounted to the psychiatrist — a narrative infused with disparate elements of frustration, perseverance, and submission.

Born in 1982 and given the most common name for Korean baby girls, Kim quickly becomes the less favored sister to her princely little brother. Her behavior is constantly policed by the male figures around her, from elementary school teachers who enforce strict uniforms for girls, to co-workers who install a hidden camera in the women’s restroom and post their photos online. In her father’s eyes, it is Kim’s fault when men harass her late at night; in her husband’s eyes, it is her duty to abandon her career to take care of him and their child.

Kim’s painfully common life is juxtaposed against a backdrop of a rapidly advancing Korea — one that has abandoned birth control policies and passed new legislation against gender discrimination. But can her doctor cure her, or even discover what truly ails her?

Playwright Wen Fangyi is a lecturer at Nanjing University’s Department of Theater, Film, and Television. Her scriptwriting credits include “President’s Invitation” and the popular Chinese series “Blossoms.”

Hong Kong actress Gigi Leung will play the lead role in the stage adaptation. She is known for “Turn Left, Turn Right” (2003), “A War Named Desire” (2000), and “Tempting Heart” (1999).

The original book sold over a million copies in South Korea and has been translated into 16 languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Thai, English, and French.

A 2019 film adaptation of the novel, starring Jung Yu-mi and Gong Yoo, drew over 3.67 million cumulative viewers.

Tickets: 280-880 yuan

Time: Aug. 7-8

Venue: Shenzhen Poly Theater

Metro:Line 2, 11, or 13 to Houhai Station (后海站), Exit E