Jaha Koo is a South Korean performer and composer based in Ghent. His multidisciplinary approach to art includes musical compositions, videos, writings and installations he creates by himself. His performances and shows intertwine politics, history and autobiography.
At Short Theatre 2019 he presented Cuckoo, an episode from his Hamartia Trilogy. This year he is back with The History of Korean Western Theatre, the last act of a triptych questioning tradition, self-censorship and the insinuating forms of historical distortion.
A caustic performance of theatre/documentary, The History of Korean Western Theatre combines – through a subtle writing style – personal history, political events and sociological analysis. Keeping in mind the future of the new generation of South Koreans, Koo creates a universe where he cuts ties with tradition and the censorship imposed by the Western canon’s excessive power. The tragic effect of the past on people’s lives is visible in the cracks of modern Confucianism, an ideology that up to this day defines the moral system of the country, the lifestyle and social relationships of all generations of South Koreans.
Only when it’s based on an authentic version of history, the future can be passed on to the next generation.
