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Bea Borgers

Lolling and Rolling

Jaha Koo / CAMPO

In Lolling and Rolling (2015), Jaha Koo immerses himself in the phenomenon of tongue-tie 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 (that was originally conceived in 2015) into a live performance in which he now also 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. Jaha 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 are colonized not only linguistically, but also culturally.

 

Duration: 45 minutes
In English & Korean, with English & Dutch subtitles         

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Lolling and Rolling forms the first part of Jaha Koo's Hamartia Trilogy. Together with Cuckoo and The History of Korean Western Theatre, the trilogy consists of three intelligent documentary theatre performances, each telling a story about 'hamartia', Greek for 'tragic error'. The common thread here is the far-reaching imperialism of the past and present, and its sometimes unexpected personal impact. Each time, Jaha Koo interweaves his personal stories with historical, political and sociological facts. Often themes that involve a clash of Eastern and Western culture: from the clipping of tongues to make it in the West, to the heavy personal toll of Western interference in the macroeconomic sphere.

 

IN THE PRESS

"Lolling and Rolling is ultimately about how Korea is haunted by the spectre of American superiority and cultural imperialism, proving how language and violence are deeply, intricately linked." Bakchormeeboy - ★★★★★, 02-06-23


"My main artistic languages are music, video and robotic objects as theatre-maker." Men's FOLIO - Charmaine Tan, 29-05-23


"There are forms of linguistic beauty that only our own mother tongue(s) make accessible to us." TQW Magazin - Freda Fiala, 19-06-21


"A calm but fierce all-out strike against language colonization." Der Standard - Helmut Ploebst, 20-06-21

Credits

concept, text, direction, music, video & performance Jaha Koo dramaturgy Dries Douibi scenography Eunkyung Jeong artistic advice Pol Heyvaert technical Korneel Coessens, Jan Berkmans & Bart Huybrechts production OFFICENEINOFFICE original support DAS Theatre executive producer 2021 CAMPO coproduction Kunstenfestivaldesarts

Past touring dates

 

11 Jun 21 - Printemps des Comédiens - Montpellier (France)
 
12 Jun 21 - Printemps des Comédiens - Montpellier (France)
 
13 Jun 21 - Printemps des Comédiens - Montpellier (France)
 
18 Jun 21 - Tanzquartier Wien - Wenen (Oostenrijk)
 
19 Jun 21 - Tanzquartier Wien - Wenen (Oostenrijk)
 
01 Jul 21 - Kunstenfestivaldesarts - Brussel (Belgium)
 
02 Jul 21 - Kunstenfestivaldesarts - Brussel (Belgium)
 
03 Jul 21 - Kunstenfestivaldesarts - Brussel (Belgium)
 
04 Jul 21 - Kunstenfestivaldesarts - Brussel (Belgium)
 
05 Jul 21 - Kunstenfestivaldesarts - Brussel (Belgium)
 
06 Jul 21 - Kunstenfestivaldesarts - Brussel (Belgium)
 
01 Oct 21 - Festival Actoral - Marseille (France)
 
02 Oct 21 - Festival Actoral - Marseille (France)
 
05 Oct 21 - 20:30FIT - Festivale Internazionale del Teatro - Lugano (Switzerland)
 
29 Jan 22 - Teatre Lliure Barcelona - Barcelona (Spain)
 
30 Jan 22 - Teatre Lliure Barcelona - Barcelona (Spain)
 
20 Mar 22 - MeetYou Festival - Valladollid (Spain)
 
10 Jun 22 - Festival Carrefour International de Théâtre - Québec (Canada)
 
11 Jun 22 - Festival Carrefour International de Théâtre - Québec (Canada)
 
16 Jun 22 - 22:00 - Inteatro - Polverigi (Italië)
 
06 Sep 22 - 20:00 - Homo Novus Festival - 16A (Letland)
 
07 Sep 22 - 20:00 - Homo Novus Festival - Riga (Letland)
 
21 Sep 22 - 20:30 - Theater De Nieuwe Vorst - Tilburg (The Netherlands)
 
19 Jan 23 - PuSh International Performing Arts Festival - Vancouver (Canada)
 
20 Jan 23 - PuSh International Performing Arts Festival - Vancouver (Canada)
 
21 Jan 23 - PuSh International Performing Arts Festival - Vancouver (Canada)
 
24 Jan 23 - Usine C - Montreal (Canada)
 
25 Jan 23 - Usine C - Montreal (Canada)
 
26 Jan 23 - Usine C - Montreal (Canada)
 
11 Feb 23 - Théâtre de l'Usine - Genève (Switzerland)
 
12 Feb 23 - Théâtre de l'Usine - Genève (Switzerland)
 
18 Mar 23 - National Theatre and Concert Hall - NTCH - Taipei (Taiwan)
 
19 Mar 23 - National Theatre and Concert Hall - NTCH - Taipei (Taiwan)
 
27 May 23 - 18:00 - Singapore International Festival of Arts - Singapore (Singapore)
 
28 May 23 - 18:00 - Singapore International Festival of Arts - Singapore (Singapore)
 
14 Oct 23 - 19:00 - Seoul Performing Arts Festival - Seoul (Korea)
 
15 Oct 23 - 15:00 - Seoul Performing Arts Festival - Seoul (Korea)
 
16 Nov 23 - 19:00 - CAMPO nieuwpoort - Gent
 
07 Dec 23 - Theater Utrecht - Utrecht (The Netherlands)
 
04 Mar 24 - 20:00 - MITsp - Mostra Internacional de Teatro São Paulo - São Paulo (Brazil)

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