Divine Daughter Anemone

Written by Shu Matsui
Directed by Kim Jeong
Adapted from “A Dream Play” by August Strindberg

The director Kim Jeong is a rising star in South Korean contemporary theatre, known for his elaborate portrayal of human psychology, bold imaginative touches, and playfulness. The Japanese playwright Shu Matsui exposes the fabric of humankind and society by building up layers of unreality. Hailing from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and with their own distinct approaches, they were brought together by a 2019 revival of “The Farm,” which Kim directed from Matsui’s script. Now they continue their collaboration with a new play by Matsui.

To confront the chaos of our current times, they have turned to “A Dream Play” (1902) by August Strindberg. In this modern classic, the daughter of a god descends to the human world to experience ordinary live among the mortals. In this version by Matsui and Kim, Strindberg’s premise is reconstructed and reinterpreted through aspects of contemporary culture such as cosplay, where people wear costumes representing certain fictional characters. Watching the female protagonist buffeted by the human world, and gradually wearying of it and departing, we discover harsh truths about our lives.

Artist Statements

Shu Matsui

The protagonist of “A Deam Play,” from which I adapted this play, is the daughter of a god. Looking around at the abject human world, there are no miracles. I want to save this sense of futility. Or rather, it is this sense of futility that is salvation, I thought, and so wrote something that then added my usual kind of fantastic ideas on top. As we stand in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, we are frequently enveloped by this sense of futility. But even so, we can’t stop craving people, animals, plants, light, heat, sounds, or tastes, can we? We realize things about our desires that we hadn't realize before, don't we? I wrote something so that director Kim Jeong could once again have fun with it after he so vividly resurrected an older play of mine, “The Farm,” at last year’s festival, and also so that, more than anything, audiences could experience the charms of this futility. Please look forward to seeing what we did.

Kim Jeong

In this time when theatre is not seen, when we cannot meet each other, it feels like we make individual productions and then go our separate ways each time. When can we meet again? Will theatre vanish in the future, becoming something dreamlike, like something from old stories? For me, F/T has been an indispensable place where I can boldly try out new endeavors. The stage is a field for racing around with all your energy, a sky for boundless flight. Though we have talked about surmounting the current crisis, I no longer have confidence that I know the meaning of theatre that is not seen. In a time when reality has become theatre and theatre has become a dream, what form will this unseen theatre take?

Artist Profiles

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