City-funded theater company probes how invisible streams of data have become new form of power
In “1984,” George Orwell imagined Big Brother as the face of totalitarian surveillance: an omnipresent eye watching people from every corner. But what if the power watching us today looks less like a tyrant and more like a caretaker? Welcome to the age of “Big Mother.”
Soft and ever attentive, this new form of big-data authority does not bark orders. Instead, it gathers data, manages algorithms, anticipates desires and gently nudges people toward certain ways of thinking — like an all-seeing mother guiding online surfing through an endless flow of information.
That idea lies at the center of “Big Mother,” a play by French playwright Melody Mourey that will open the new season at the Seoul Metropolitan Theater. The production raises the curtain on March 30 and runs to the last weekend of April, marking the first work staged under the company’s new artistic director Lee Jun-woo, who was appointed to the role in November.
Having premiered in France, the play drew wide attention in 2023 when it was nominated in five categories at the Moliere Awards, the country’s most prestigious theater prizes.
“I immediately felt it raised questions that are meaningful for us today,” Lee said during a press conference Thursday.
The story follows a group of investigative reporters racing to uncover the truth behind a political scandal. Ahead of a presidential election, a video emerges that appears to show a sitting president involved in a sexual scandal. As journalists attempt to verify the footage, they begin to uncover a far larger system involving the sprawling network of data, fact and fabrication. The play examines how invisible streams of information in the era of big data can function as a new form of power.
“’Big Mother’ manipulates our thoughts through comfort. It’s a chance to step back and think about the virtual environment where we follow algorithms almost automatically because they feel comfortable and familiar,” Lee said.
“But the play itself isn’t particularly serious. It’s humorous and light in tone. The audience drifts through the scenes almost without thinking — much like in the real world, where we keep following algorithmic feeds, only to find ourselves in a moment when our thinking has become deeply polarized.”
Lee’s appointment as head of the Seoul public theater company made its own headlines, as the 40-year-old is the youngest to ever lead the company.
“Right after I took the position, I felt pressure from people expecting new energy and change,” he said. “But now I’m almost forgetting about that. My focus is simply on putting this production on stage well.”
“There will certainly be productions that I direct,” he added. “But I’m also looking forward to developing projects with other talented creators and building new work together.”
hwangdh@heraldcorp.com
