Bittersweet, tragic, and humorous, ‘Cuckoo’ weaves the personal and the political

Susan Bland

17 Jan 2025

Onstage during a performance of his documentary theatre work “Cuckoo,” Jaha Koo sits on top of a table between two Cuckoo brand rice cookers, holding another on his lap. The performance’s projected subtitles read “Hello my son, did you have a good meal?” Photo courtesy of Wolf Silveri.

South Korean artist Jaha Koo uses video to closely interweave politics, history, and his own personal stories for his documentary theatre work. He brings his play “Cuckoo,” which provides a touching insight into the tragedy of a lonely life in a thoroughly technologized society, to the Cube at the Moss Arts Center on Friday, Jan. 31, at 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 4 and 7:30 p.m.

Performed in Korean and English with English subtitles, “Cuckoo” focuses on how the inescapable past affects lives today. Three talking rice cookers — branded Cuckoo — are his conversation partners in painfully funny dialogues about the lonely lives a Korean generation faces. This intelligent, reflective, and haunting performance reveals a clash of Eastern and Western culture.

One day when his electric rice cooker informed him that his meal was ready, Koo experienced a deep sense of isolation. “Golibmuwon” is an untranslatable Korean word expressing the feeling of helpless isolation that characterizes the lives of many young people in Korea today.

Twenty years ago, there was a major economic crisis in South Korea, comparable to the financial crash in the United States and Southern Europe in 2008. This crisis had a huge impact on Koo and his generation. He witnessed many endemic problems, including youth unemployment and socioeconomic inequality. Rising suicide rates, isolation, acute social withdrawal, and a fixation on personal appearance were just some of the symptoms.

In bittersweet and humorous dialogues, Koo and his clever rice cookers lead a journey through the last two decades of Korean history, combining personal experience with political events and reflections on happiness, economic crises, and death.

Please note, these performances of “Cuckoo” contain references to suicide, mature language, explicit content, violence, and strobe lights. Recommended for ages 13 and up.

Related events

Koo will engage with audience members in post-performance discussions following each performance of “Cuckoo.” He will also meet with Virginia Tech students from the APIDA+ Center in a community-building conversation and make several class visits, where he will discuss various elements of “Cuckoo” and his creative process with English, political science, and cinema students.

Tickets

Tickets are $25 for general admission and $10 for students and youth 18 and under. Tickets can be purchased online; at the Moss Arts Center's box office, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; or by calling 540-231-5300 during box office hours.

Venue and parking information

The performance will be held in the center’s Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, located within the Street and Davis Performance Hall at 190 Alumni Mall. Convenient parking is available in the North End Parking Garage on Turner Street and in downtown Blacksburg. Find more parking details online.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Jamie Wiggert at least 10 days prior to the event at 540-231-5300 or email wiggertj@vt.edu during regular business hours.