Seoul Metropolitan Theatre Stages Big Mother, Explores Data-Driven Power Ahead of US Elections
Seoul’s city-run theatre troupe, the Seoul Metropolitan Theatre Company, will stage the play Big Mother from March 30 to April 25 at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, M Theater, in Seoul. The production marks the first year under the troupe’s newly appointed artistic director, Lee Jun-woo, who also directs the show.
Big Mother reimagines George Orwell’s Big Brother as a contemporary form of information power that shapes public opinion. The creator describes it as a system that lulls audiences with comfort and familiarity while subtly steering thoughts, a commentary on how the data-driven media landscape can influence democracy.
The script is by French playwright Mélodie Mure, and Lee Jun-woo is directing the piece himself in his new role at the Seoul Metropolitan Theatre. The collaboration brings a domestic stage production to a concept rooted in global concerns about information control.
The story is set in the United States ahead of a presidential election. A sex scandal video involving the sitting president surfaces, and a team of New York-based investigative journalists digs into its authenticity, only to uncover what appears to be a larger, unseen manipulation system behind the incident.
The production features 58 rapid-fire scenes and centers on four journalists, with the narrative balancing a tense investigative premise with the personal lives and struggles of the reporters to maintain dramatic balance.
Casting includes veteran journalist and New York investigative editor Owen, portrayed in double casting by Jo Han-cheol and Yoo Seung-ju. The role of Kook, the relentless truth-seeker, is played by Lee Kang-uk and Kim Se-hwan. Seoul Metropolitan Theatre Company members Kim Shin-gi and Choi Na-ra also perform in the production.
A roundtable interview with the production’s team took place on March 12 at Sejong Center’s rehearsal space, where the director and cast discussed the show’s aims and approach to the material.
For U.S. audiences, the play’s core questions—how data, algorithms, and media shape political narratives; who controls the information environment; and what constitutes evidence in an era of digital manipulation—are highly relevant. Big Mother touches on electoral integrity, media literacy, and the ethical responsibilities of journalism in a global information economy, themes that resonate with ongoing debates in American politics, tech policy, and culture. The production also highlights how cross-cultural theatre reflects shared anxieties about democracy, surveillance, and the power of information in society.