Jaha Koo (South Korea / Belgium)
An economic disaster and its ripple effects are conveyed in an onstage performance by the artist and some very special companions: a group of talking rice cookers.
Please note: The curtain time for the performance on Wednesday, February 5th was incorrectly published in our program guide. All performances are at 8PM.
Jaha Koo folds 20 years of South Korean history into this bittersweet narrative. An economic disaster and its ripple effects are conveyed in an onstage performance by the artist and some very special companions: a group of talking rice cookers. Re-programmed to speak, these devices serve as a token of Jaha’s alienation and a metaphor for the most absurd, most comical aspects of the recent past.
“Cuckoo is an educational and philosophical treasure, with hilarious banter between rice cookers… It masterfully balances the personal and the worldwide, the human and the inanimate, creating a unique pressure-cooked theatrical feast.”
—Montreal Theatre Hub
Cuckoo is a dialogue, a confessional, even a documentary of sorts. Jaha sits with his electronic friends, and together they discuss the catastrophic market crash of 1997 and subsequent national phenomena, including unemployment, depression and suicide among the youth. The subject matter is dark, but there’s rich comedy in the wry observations, the personal revelations and, of course, the basic concept itself. This is an account of deep malaise in which the storyteller(s!) demonstrate enough wit and creativity to suggest that there is, against the odds, hope for the future.



Artist Bio
Jaha Koo (South Korea / Belgium)
The multi-talented, multilingual artist Jaha Koo creates theatre and performance works with text, video and music; he’s also a recording artist who goes by the handle GuJAHA. Known for taking a highly personal approach to politics, he’s currently constructing a trilogy of works entitled Hamartia, of which Cuckoo is the second part.
Venue
1412 Cartwright Street, Granville Island, Vancouver
When
February 3–5, 8PM
Post-Show Talkback: Feb 4
60 mins, no intermission.
In English and Korean
Tickets
Single tickets $39
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Or call 604.449.6000
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Access

English Surtitles for Korean Only

Captions (All Sound & Text) on Feb 5

Captions (All Sound & Text) on Feb 5
ASL Introduction
Credits
CONCEPT, DIRECTION, TEXT, MUSIC, VIDEO Jaha Koo PERFORMANCE Hana, Duri, Seri, Jaha Koo CUCKOO HACKING Idella Craddock SCENOGRAPHY, MEDIA OPERATION Eunkyung Jeong DRAMATURGICAL ADVICE Dries Douibi TECHNICAL Tom Daniels PRODUCTION Kunstenwerkplaats Pianofabriek EXECUTIVE PRODUCER CAMPO CO-PRODUCER Bâtard Festival
SUPPORTED BY CAMPO, STUK, BUDA, DAS, SFAC, Noorderzon/Grand Theatre REALIZED WITH THE SUPPORT OF de Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie
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