Step into the story: how a novel shapes the lives of characters in Jun Lana’s play

Lana stressed: “The novel is the pressure point of ‘About Us But Not About Us.’ It’s personal for Marcus, rooted in his fear of being replaced, and tempting for Lancelot, who sees himself reflected in it. As a novel, it pushes their stories further, asking questions the play alone can’t. It’s connected to them, but it doesn’t belong to either of them.”

Lana clarified that having the book provides voyeurs with a better understanding of the characters in his play, which was once screened abroad and during the annual festival’s summer edition. It is also a way for them to put the puzzles together.

It’s Lancelot’s novel, not Jun’s

“I can’t confirm authorship beyond what the story establishes. Again, the novel is credited to Lancelot, and the question of who the ‘real’ author is remains part of the conflict.

“Allowing the novel to exist changes how the story is experienced. The film becomes immaterial, and the play asserts itself as something else entirely,” he explained.

“Onstage, the audience encounters the object at the center of the conflict in real time, in the same space where the drama unfolds. That proximity creates an experience only theater can offer.”

Empathizing with Marcus

When asked whether or not he sees himself in a situation like Marcus’ who would give up his “child,” the novel, just to win back the love of his life, he replied: “I’d like to believe I wouldn’t. But I also know how seductive love can be, especially when it feels like it’s slipping away.”

He stressed that Marcus didn’t give up the novel out of generosity. He did it out of guilt and the belief that sacrifice might still fix something already broken. “That’s a very human impulse. Whether it’s the right one is harder to say,” explained Lana.