Play 'Waiting for the Chimney'... Homage to Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot'

Until the 11th of next month at Daehangno Yeonwoo Small Theater

The theater company Gorae is performing the play "Waiting for the Chimney" at Yeonwoo Small Theater in Daehangno until the 11th of next month.

"Waiting for the Chimney" is a homage to "Waiting for Godot," the representative work of Irish playwright Samuel Beckett (1906?1989). Beckett is considered one of the leading playwrights of the 20th century and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969.

"Waiting for the Chimney" borrows only the motif of two protagonists, Vladimir and Estragon, endlessly waiting for the absent Godot from "Waiting for Godot." Instead, "Waiting for the Chimney" depicts the story of workers who climb chimneys and have no choice but to wait there.

Through this, the play raises questions about the issue of human labor being replaced by technology and the current labor realities in Korean society. Similar to "Waiting for Godot," wordplay and games continue throughout the play.

[Photo by Geukdan Gorae]

Lee Haeseong, the representative of theater company Gorae who wrote and directed the play, stated that the script was extensively revised compared to the premiere to reflect the rapidly changing contemporary society. He explained that the revisions incorporated the swift changes in labor environments, awareness of labor rights, and new labor environment elements such as ChatGPT and the metaverse. "Waiting for the Chimney" premiered in 2021.

The director wrote the play after observing workers engaged in high-altitude sit-in protests. He said he wanted to tell the existence of workers who chose "waiting" as the most resistant act. He also explained that he projected onto the high-altitude protesters the stories of many people precariously walking the line between life and death, hidden behind the glamorous phrases adorning Korean society such as K-quarantine, K-pop, and Academy Awards.