“Han! is not an easy word to understand. It has generally been understood as a sort of resentment. But I think it means both sadness and hope at the same time. You can think of Han as the core of life, the pathway leading from birth to death...”
— Park Kyon-ni (1994)
An ancient dance is performed under a neon light. A virgin ghost stares out from the TV. A baby left alone in an apartment meditates on the nature of solitude. A woman explores memories of her life in relation to the Korean concept of Han.
Our heroine moves back and forth between the ancient myths of “Gojoseon,” the era of her dead grandmother, her mother’s past and her own life. Three generations of Korean women bound together in the “resilient silence” of Han. How will she navigate the sea of expectations that life, family, and nation have thrown her way? Through her struggle to understand the complexity of her own Han, which ignites a fire in her mind, we are carried into a dynamic meditation exploring the no man’s land between myth and modernity as we weigh the relation between suffering, sacrifice and destiny.
Theatre No Theatre
In January of 2022, Thomas Richards, apprentice of Jerzy Grotowski, closed the doors of the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards, of which he was Artistic Director for 23 years. Throughout its existence, the Workcenter was hailed as an outstanding and unique performing arts research centre, a place of constant experimentation and innovation.
Workcenter founder Jerzy Grotowski is known for having revolutionised contemporary theatre, and is considered to be one of the most influential theatre practitioners of the 20th century. Through his work with the Polish Laboratory Theatre, Grotowski changed the way theatre practitioners conceive of the audience-actor relationship, staging and the craft of acting. Perhaps best known for his notion of “poor theatre”, Grotowski’s practice extended beyond the confines of conventional theatre, assuming a long-term and systematic exploration of the possibilities of the human being in a performance context.
The Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski was founded in 1986 in Pontedera, Italy, where Grotowski developed a line of performance research known as “Art as vehicle” until his death in 1999. Within this investigation, he worked closely with Mr. Richards whom he called his “essential collaborator”, eventually changing the name of the Workcenter to include Richards. During those years, Grotowski transmitted to Richards the fruit of his lifetime research, what he called “the inner aspect of the work”.
Theatre No Theatre, founded in February 2022 by veteran Workcenter members Jessica Losilla-Hébrail and Hyun Ju Baek, inherits its artistic existence directly from the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards, since it is dedicated to supporting new theatre research by Thomas Richards.
- Approximately 60 minutes in duration.
- Free seating.
- You are recommended to arrive 15 minutes before the event starts. No admission for latecomers.
- Programmes are subject to change without prior notice. HKPAX reserves the right to make the final decision regarding the arrangements.
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