Source: Dong-A Ilbo · 문화연예

What happened

According to Dong-A Ilbo, composer and co-writer Alex Vecktel and co-writer and lead actress Grace McLean spoke in a written interview during a Korea visit arranged by the Arts Management Support Center (예술경영지원센터). They were promoting Penelope, a musical that puts Penelope — the Ithacan wife who waits 20 years for Odysseus to return from war — at the center of Homer’s epic instead of at its margins.

The piece follows one day in her life. On stage alone in a white dress, she sings that she “can’t wait anymore” even as she tells suitors “I can’t let anyone in.” The musical premiered in the United Kingdom in August (2026), while Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey has drawn more than 11 million viewers in Korea as of September 19, Dong-A reports — a blockbuster focused on Odysseus crossing seas, fighting monsters, and meeting gods.

The breakdown

Vecktel told Dong-A the film and the musical take “opposite approaches.” Nolan adapted The Odyssey almost like an action movie — battles, storms, exotic locations on screen. The musical builds its world through one performer’s words and music.

The staging is small: one actor plus musicians on piano, cello, and drums. Vecktel said theater should not chase screen-level spectacle; live performance offers direct contact with a strong actor.

The project began during the pandemic, when Vecktel lived apart from a long-term partner and wrote from Penelope’s point of view. McLean said the team did not rewrite Homer’s Penelope but dug into situations already in the original. Her “odyssey,” she argued, is choosing to wait and choosing to live each day — hope as a creative act inside an impossible situation.

Why it matters outside Korea

Korea’s 11 million-plus Odyssey ticket count shows mass appetite for Greek epic retelling. Penelope asks the complementary question: what happened to the person left behind? Its UK premiere and one-performer format also signal how lean post-pandemic musicals can travel — relevant for festivals and export-minded Korean arts agencies.

Vecktel’s line — that people who feel like “supporting characters” are still protagonists of their own stories — resonates when blockbuster marketing centers the hero’s journey alone.

What travelers and expats should watch

• No Korea run yet: Dong-A covers the creators’ visit and philosophy but announces no Seoul dates, venue, or ticket window. If you are in Korea for Nolan’s Odyssey, treat Penelope as a watchlist title — follow Arts Management Support Center and Korean musical importers for any licensing news rather than expecting walk-up seats.
• Format expectations: The work is built for intimate houses, not megahall spectacle. If it eventually imports, book small venues early and assume English lyrics with possible Korean supertitles only if a local producer adds them — the article does not promise either language setup for a future run.
• Epic pairing: Track bookstore and revival-theater calendars if you want classical myth beyond Nolan while Odyssey holds Korean screens.

Context

Read this as a UK-premiered interview piece about a one-actor Penelope musical amid Korea’s Nolan box-office wave, not as confirmation that the show is opening in Seoul soon. The operational story for outsiders is conceptual and export-oriented: waiting as adventure, small-cast theater as deliberate anti-blockbuster — use the 11 million film figure and August UK premiere as timing context, not as a local booking sheet.

Source

Dong-A Ilbo · 문화연예: “기다림도 모험이었다… 페넬로페의 ‘오디세이’” — Korean original; interview quotes, cast size, premiere timing, Nolan audience count, and creative origin from Dong-A; paraphrased for briefing; read the original for photos and full Korean text.