• ByNis-Momme Stockmann
• Translated byJang Eun-soo
• Embellished byYoon Seong-ho
• Directed byAlexis Bug
• Produced byNTCK

Nis-Momme Stockmann, the darling of the German theater world, made observations of contemporary Korean society, which were then transferred to stage at the hands of the established German theater director Alexis Bug and a Korean cast. In order to write a satire on capital as the ultimate source of power in modern society, Stockmann spent some time in Korea, where he witnessed various aspects of modern life. In working with Korean actors, Alexis Bug, too, enhanced his understanding of Korea. The omnibus play comprises three stories about the oppression exerted by the absolute power of capital. The appearance of the playwright in the prologue and epilogue establishes distance from the audience. Created by two German artists familiar with the scars of war and national division—together with Korean actors and staff—the play was praised for its originality that rendered it neither Korean nor German.

• ByJean Genet
• Directed byArthur Nauzyciel
• Produced byCentre Dramatique National Orléans/Loiret/Centre (France)

Arthur Nauzyciel, Artistic Director of Centre Dramatique National Orléans, brought Jean Genet’s posthumous play Splendid’s to Korea. The magnificent Hotel Splendid falls into the hands of seven gangsters. Tragedy ensues when they accidently kill their hostage, and engage in a tense confrontation with the police. Heralded by Jean Genet’s own film Un Chant d'amour (1950), the play unfolds the precarious situation using various colors and shades pulsated with elements of a Hollywood thriller. Through black humor, the dramatic narrative effortlessly delivers Genet’s message about existential woe. In collaboration with world-renowned scenographer Riccardo Hernandez and lighting designer Scott Zielinski, the production presented a cinematic mise-en-scène that blurred the boundaries between theater and film as well as fantasy and reality, and encompassed the sensibilities of the original.