International Festival of Contemporary Theatre
Programme
Lolling and rolling
06.09., 07.09. 20.00, Hanzas perons | 10 / 15 EUR
In his 2015 film documentary ‘Lolling and Rolling’, Jaha Koo immersed himself in the phenomenon of tonguetie surgery, an operation performed in South Korea to pronounce the English tip-of-the-tongue “r”. The absurdity of an operation like this shows the impact of linguistic imperialism in Koo’s native country. In 2021, the theatre-maker, videographer and composer re-worked the documentary into a live performance in which he explores the more extensive process that goes along with the surgery.
‘Lolling and Rolling’ dwells upon English being the capital language in political power, and what this means for the ‘inaudible voice’, that of the subaltern. Koo unveils a practice which tries to silence these minorities, taking their cultural agency. Because the denial or devaluation of a language also instigates the loss of an identity, of a minority, of a population group. In this way the subaltern is colonized not only linguistically, but also culturally.
Accessibility
Accessible for audiences with mobility impairment. On-site audio in English and Korean (printed text
available before the show). Subtitles in Latvian.
About artist
Jaha Koo (1984) is a South Korean theater/performance maker and music composer. His artistic practice oscillates between multimedia and performance, all of which include his own music, video, text and installation. His performances are closely interweaved with politics, history and his own personal issues. Since 2014, Koo has been working on his Hamartia Trilogy. This trilogy thematically focuses on how the inescapable past tragically affects our lives today. The first part of the trilogy, Lolling and Rolling, was first presented by Zürcher Theater Spektakel in 2015. The second piece, Cuckoo, premiered at the Steirischer Herbst Festival in 2017. Koo has been living and working in Belgium for the past few years. His final part of the trilogy, The History of Korean Western Theatre, premiered in the summer of 2020, and was his first production created at the Ghent-based and internationally touring arts centre CAMPO. In 2021, he presented the trilogy as a whole for the first time. GuJAHA is the pseudonym of Jaha Koo as a music composer. His most recent EP was Copper and Oyster in 2015.
Cast
Concept, text, direction, music, video, performance: Jaha Koo
Dramaturgy: Dries Douibi
Scenography: Eunkyung Jeong
Artistic advice: Pol Heyvaert
Production: OFFICENEINOFFICE
Executive producer: 2021 CAMPO
Co-production: Kunstenfestivaldesarts | Original support: DAS Theatre
6, 7
September
20:00
10 / 15 EUR
in Korean, English (with Latvian subtitles)
45 min
Tickets