Moliere-winning Joel Pommerat’s 'Tales and Legends' brings story of human-android coexistence

Acclaimed French playwright and director Joel Pommerat, celebrated with nine Moliere Awards, has brought one of his original productions to Korea for the first time.

His 2020 production “Tales and Legends,” set in a near future that features androids, is onstage at the LG Arts Center from Thursday to Sunday.

While several of Pommerat’s works, such as “This Child” and “The Reunification of the Two Koreas,” have been translated and performed in Korea by local theater groups, this is the first time an original production is being performed in the country.

Having premiered in 2020, “Tales and Legends” is set in a society where humans and androids coexist, with a particular focus on teenagers growing up alongside robots. The story unfolds episodically across 11 interconnected stories with eight actors in their 30s taking on a range of roles as teenagers, robots, parents and teachers.

Pommerat described the play as “a story about a world where human-like robots become part of our families,” in a preshow interview with LG Arts Center, speaking in French.

“I wanted to make the audience reflect on humanity by exploring androids, which exist at the boundary between humans and objects. By doing so, the play touches on themes of identity, gender, love, relationships with parents and even death.”

The show, recommended for audiences aged 14 and up, will be performed in French with Korean subtitles.

Following Friday’s performance, Pommerat and members of the cast and creative team will participate in a Q&A session with the audience.

In addition, a Korean production of Pommerat’s “The Reunification of the Two Koreas” is set for its second run from Nov. 16 to 24 at the Minsong Art Hall in Daehangno, the theater district of Seoul.

Directed by Seo Ji-hye and staged by the Project Island theater group, the play explores love through 17 short stories, with Seo adding a final scene not in the original script, according to Project Island.

Having originally premiered in France in 2013, “The Reunification of the Two Koreas” was inspired by scenes of brief reunions between separated South and North Korean families, according to Pommerat. However, the play is not about reunification itself; rather, it delves into love through episodes that reflect Pommerat’s thematic focus on separation and reunion, which he found to be “a powerful metaphor for love.”