In the documentary play The History of Korean Western Theatre, Jaha Koo investigates the influence of the European theatre tradition on Korean theatre. We know the South Korean theatre maker and composer from Cuckoo, which he presented during our “Un|settled” series in 2018.
concept, script, director, music, video and performance
Jaha Koo
stage directions
Dries Douibi
scenography
Eunkyung Jeong & Jaha Koo
technician
Korneel Coessens & Philippe Digneffe
research
Eunkyung Jeong & Jaha Koo
research assistant
Sang Ok Kim
recording of interviews
Yoonsik Lee & Injun Na
producer
CAMPO
co-producers
Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Münchner Kammerspiele (DE), Frascati Producties & Veem House for Performance (NL), SPRING performing arts festival (NL), Zürcher Theaterspektakel (CH), Black Box teater (NO), International Summer Festival Kampnagel (DE), Tanzquartier Wien (AU), wpZimmer, Théâtre de la Bastille (FR) & Festival d’Automne à Paris (FR)
with the support of
Beursschouwburg, the Flemish Community Commission & Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst
During the celebrations for the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Korean theatre, Koo came to the conclusion that a Korean theatre tradition does not actually exist. After all, what people consider to be theatre in South Korea is largely determined by the Western and Japanese canons. Why is that? Why are South Koreans actually so proud of this Western interpretation of their theatre tradition? What does ‘contemporary’ mean in South Korea? And why does everyone keep referring to Shakespeare? These are just a few of the questions Koo asks. The History of Korean Western Theatre is intelligent documentary theatre in which historic, political, sociological and personal stories are interwoven. With a special place set aside for the electronic soundtrack composed by Koo himself.
This production is the closing play in Jaha Koo’s Hamartia trilogy. Koo had previously homed in on themes entailing a clash between Eastern and Western culture in Lolling & Rolling and Cuckoo. From tongue surgery to make it in the West through to the severe personal toll taken by Western interventions at macro-economic level.
