Robot Actor Kollie to Take the Stage in the Play 'Cheon Gaeui Parang'

Play 'Cheon Gaeui Parang' Opens in April
First Robot Actor in 74-Year History
Appears as Humanoid Jockey Role
Cover Actor Prepared for Malfunction

The National Theater Company will feature a robot actor on stage for the first time in its 74-year history in the play "A Thousand Blues," performed from April 4 to 28 at the Hongik University Daehangno Art Center Small Theater.

On the 28th, the National Theater Company announced that the specially made robot "Kolli" will appear on stage for the performance of "A Thousand Blues." Kolli is 145 cm tall and has a broccoli-colored body, just like in the original novel of the same name.

Kolli is a semi-automatic puppet form that can move its upper body, arms, wrists, and neck joints independently. Its face is made with LEDs that adjust the brightness of its eyes, and a speaker that delivers lines is installed in its chest. Kolli can move automatically by receiving cue signals through 'DMX signals,' which are used to control lighting devices, and it can also move with the help of human actors who share the role of Kolli. To prepare for malfunctions, a "cover actor" with the same specifications as Kolli is also ready.

Actor Kim Yae-eun, who will control the movements of the robot actor 'Collie' and perform monologues in the play 'A Thousand Blues'
[Photo provided by National Theater Company of Korea]

"A Thousand Blues" is based on the novel of the same name by author Cheon Seon-ran, which won the grand prize in the long novel category of the 2019 Korean Science Literature Awards.

The story is set in an era where humanoid jockeys have been introduced to help racehorses run faster. Kolli is the humanoid jockey of "Today," once the fastest racehorse. When Today, who is happiest when running, can no longer run properly, Kolli deliberately falls off to save Today. One day, when Kolli's lower body is severely damaged and about to be discarded, Yeon-jae finds Kolli and spends all her savings to bring Kolli back and repair it. Yeon-jae, her sister Eun-hye, and Kolli devise a plan to prevent Today's euthanasia.

The cast includes National Theater Company season members Yoon Sung-won, Lee Seung-heon, Choi Ha-yoon, Heo I-re, and guest actors Kim Ki-joo, Kim Ye-eun, Kim Hyun-jung, Ryu I-jae, and Jang Seok-hwan. Among them, actor Kim Ye-eun will control the movements of the robot Kolli and perform its monologues.

Director Jang Han-sae said, "We all live in a hyper-connected era where we can easily connect with each other anytime, but paradoxically, we are becoming more isolated and lonely." He added, "In a world busy chasing fierce competition and rapidly changing speeds, I hope this work makes us feel that we are connected to each other and, furthermore, the warmth of acts of solidarity."

Director Jang Han-sae was selected in the 2023 National Theater Company project development program "Creative Sympathy: Directing." He chose "A Thousand Blues" as a performance piece after in-depth research, study, special lectures, consultation, and technical workshops on the theme of "science, technology, and art." In his previous works such as "Stories That Come to Mind While Eating a Hamburger," "The Fisherman's Core," and "Mount," Jang has portrayed various phenomena of a hyper-connected world created by advanced technology mediated by robots on stage.

The adaptation was done by writer Kim Do-young, who previously collaborated with director Jang Han-sae on "Stories That Come to Mind While Eating a Hamburger" and "The Fisherman's Core," and who won the Dong-A Theater Award for "The Story of Wang Seogae" and "Red Fallen Leaves."

Tickets for "A Thousand Blues" will be available for reservation from 2 p.m. on March 6 through the National Theater Company website and Interpark. Paid members of the National Theater Company can participate in an early reservation on the National Theater Company website two days earlier. After the performance ends on April 14, a talk with artists including director Jang Han-sae, adapter Kim Do-young, and dramaturg Jeon Kang-hee will be held.