8th Installment of the Modern Korean Theater Series! Lee Bo-ram's ('The House Where Boy B Lives', 'Women Don't Cry') Latest Work Premieres in Japan
Natori Office and Universal Theater Company will co-produce the Japanese premiere of the modern Korean play 'The Fourth Person' in Shimokitazawa from June 19, 2026. The play tackles the theme of false accusations.
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- 📰 Published: April 13, 2026 at 20:00
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Natori Office and Universal Theater Company will co-produce 'The Fourth Person', which will be performed from June 19 (Fri) to June 28 (Sun), 2026, at the 'Geki' Sho-Gekijo in Shimokitazawa (2-6-6 Kitazawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo). Tickets are currently on sale through Confetti (operated by Longrun Planning Corporation, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Hiroyoshi Kurematsu).
Tickets are available here
Official Website: https://www.nato.jp/
8th Installment of the Modern Korean Theater Series
Lee Bo-ram ('The House Where Boy B Lives', 'Women Don't Cry') Japan Premiere
The latest work's theme is 'False Accusation'
The Modern Korean Theater Series, which started in 2018, is now in its 8th installment and has become so established that it could safely be called a theater company specializing in Korean plays.
This work marks its Japanese premiere and has been adapted into a Tokyo version. Deepening international exchange with Korea, this is an international co-production where the script, stage design, costumes, and flyer design are handled by Korean staff.
The playwright, Lee Bo-ram, presents her third work following the highly acclaimed 'The House Where Boy B Lives' and 'Women Don't Cry', and she is active on the front lines as a socially conscious playwright in the Korean theater world.
The theme this time is false accusation. Lee Bo-ram constantly provides new settings and new perspectives.
Recently, it has become clear that there was a tendency for Korean police and prosecutors to cast suspicion on socially vulnerable people simply to close cases early. This work is based on a real case that ended in an acquittal upon retrial. It starts as a coming-of-age story of a teenage daughter, and the end of the story poses a question to adults.
Synopsis
17 years ago, in a prosecutor's office. Cheol-pil, accused of robbery resulting in death, and a woman who claims to be the true culprit. Intimidated by the prosecutor's overbearing attitude, Cheol-pil confesses, 'I am the culprit.'
Time passes, 17 years later to the present. The man who was the prosecutor in charge of that case learns that his daughter Eun-ji has been imprisoned in a detention center on suspicion of murder. Eun-ji repeatedly throws a certain question at her father who comes to visit her. However, the father gives no answer. Time goes back again, 17 years ago. After returning home from the prosecutor's office, the woman who turned herself in thinks of Cheol-pil, who was falsely accused and sent to prison in her place, and starts a campaign to inform the public of his false accusation by putting up posters around town.
Meanwhile, Cheol-pil maintains his innocence and continues to write letters to the prosecutor asking for the woman who turned herself in to be interrogated once again.
Playwright: Lee Bo-ram
Head of Universal Theater Company.
After studying psychology at university, she majored in playwriting at the School of Drama, Korea National University of Arts.
Since her debut in 2012 with 'Emperor Comic Cafe', which dealt with forced eviction issues due to redevelopment, she has continued to release works based on social issues such as sexual violence, false accusations, and fabricated spy cases.
[Representative Works]
'The House Where Boy B Lives' (2014, selected for 'CJ Cultural Foundation CREATIVE MINDS'), 'Women Don't Cry' (2015), 'Rooftop Cowboy' (2015, later adapted into a film), 'The Fourth Person' (2018, Pre-Global Woman Performing Arts Festival closing work), 'Romance of Destruction' (2024), 'When Neil Armstrong Landed on the Moon' (2025, selected for 'ARKO Selection - New Work of the Year'), etc. She has an established reputation for works focusing on the socially vulnerable and the histories of individuals who never step into the spotlight. She is also expanding her range of expression with the puppet shows 'Let's Become a Song' and 'Traditional Music Play: Ok' (2021) for actors and audiences with disabilities, 'Turtle Grandma' (2024) themed on aging, and an eponymous work inspired by Ibsen's 'A Doll's House' (2025). Translated performances by Natori Office have also been well received; 'The House Where Boy B Lives' (performed in 2020) won the Excellence Award at the 75th Agency for Cultural Affairs Art Festival.
'Women Don't Cry' (performed in 2021) was broadcast on NHK's 'Premium Stage'.
Director: Miyuki Ikuta
Belongs to Bungakuza, member of the theater unit 'Rational Eccentrics'.
Completed the master's program at the Graduate School of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts.
Stayed in Germany (Summer 2016) with a language scholarship (for the arts) from the Goethe-Institut's cultural program.
[Recent Directing Works]
'Burning Bride', 'As Far As Impossible', 'Norma Jean in the Desert', 'Piggyback', etc.
Received the 31st Yomiuri Theater Awards Excellence in Directing for Natori Office's 'Prisoners of Occupation', 'Butcher', and others, and the New Face Award of Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Art Encouragement Prize for FY2023 for 'Prisoners of Occupation' and others.
Performance Overview
Modern Korean Theater Performance
Co-produced by Natori Office and Universal Theater Company
'The Fourth Person'
Tickets are available here
Official Website: https://www.nato.jp/
8th Installment of the Modern Korean Theater Series
Lee Bo-ram ('The House Where Boy B Lives', 'Women Don't Cry') Japan Premiere
The latest work's theme is 'False Accusation'
The Modern Korean Theater Series, which started in 2018, is now in its 8th installment and has become so established that it could safely be called a theater company specializing in Korean plays.
This work marks its Japanese premiere and has been adapted into a Tokyo version. Deepening international exchange with Korea, this is an international co-production where the script, stage design, costumes, and flyer design are handled by Korean staff.
The playwright, Lee Bo-ram, presents her third work following the highly acclaimed 'The House Where Boy B Lives' and 'Women Don't Cry', and she is active on the front lines as a socially conscious playwright in the Korean theater world.
The theme this time is false accusation. Lee Bo-ram constantly provides new settings and new perspectives.
Recently, it has become clear that there was a tendency for Korean police and prosecutors to cast suspicion on socially vulnerable people simply to close cases early. This work is based on a real case that ended in an acquittal upon retrial. It starts as a coming-of-age story of a teenage daughter, and the end of the story poses a question to adults.
Synopsis
17 years ago, in a prosecutor's office. Cheol-pil, accused of robbery resulting in death, and a woman who claims to be the true culprit. Intimidated by the prosecutor's overbearing attitude, Cheol-pil confesses, 'I am the culprit.'
Time passes, 17 years later to the present. The man who was the prosecutor in charge of that case learns that his daughter Eun-ji has been imprisoned in a detention center on suspicion of murder. Eun-ji repeatedly throws a certain question at her father who comes to visit her. However, the father gives no answer. Time goes back again, 17 years ago. After returning home from the prosecutor's office, the woman who turned herself in thinks of Cheol-pil, who was falsely accused and sent to prison in her place, and starts a campaign to inform the public of his false accusation by putting up posters around town.
Meanwhile, Cheol-pil maintains his innocence and continues to write letters to the prosecutor asking for the woman who turned herself in to be interrogated once again.
Playwright: Lee Bo-ram
Head of Universal Theater Company.
After studying psychology at university, she majored in playwriting at the School of Drama, Korea National University of Arts.
Since her debut in 2012 with 'Emperor Comic Cafe', which dealt with forced eviction issues due to redevelopment, she has continued to release works based on social issues such as sexual violence, false accusations, and fabricated spy cases.
[Representative Works]
'The House Where Boy B Lives' (2014, selected for 'CJ Cultural Foundation CREATIVE MINDS'), 'Women Don't Cry' (2015), 'Rooftop Cowboy' (2015, later adapted into a film), 'The Fourth Person' (2018, Pre-Global Woman Performing Arts Festival closing work), 'Romance of Destruction' (2024), 'When Neil Armstrong Landed on the Moon' (2025, selected for 'ARKO Selection - New Work of the Year'), etc. She has an established reputation for works focusing on the socially vulnerable and the histories of individuals who never step into the spotlight. She is also expanding her range of expression with the puppet shows 'Let's Become a Song' and 'Traditional Music Play: Ok' (2021) for actors and audiences with disabilities, 'Turtle Grandma' (2024) themed on aging, and an eponymous work inspired by Ibsen's 'A Doll's House' (2025). Translated performances by Natori Office have also been well received; 'The House Where Boy B Lives' (performed in 2020) won the Excellence Award at the 75th Agency for Cultural Affairs Art Festival.
'Women Don't Cry' (performed in 2021) was broadcast on NHK's 'Premium Stage'.
Director: Miyuki Ikuta
Belongs to Bungakuza, member of the theater unit 'Rational Eccentrics'.
Completed the master's program at the Graduate School of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts.
Stayed in Germany (Summer 2016) with a language scholarship (for the arts) from the Goethe-Institut's cultural program.
[Recent Directing Works]
'Burning Bride', 'As Far As Impossible', 'Norma Jean in the Desert', 'Piggyback', etc.
Received the 31st Yomiuri Theater Awards Excellence in Directing for Natori Office's 'Prisoners of Occupation', 'Butcher', and others, and the New Face Award of Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Art Encouragement Prize for FY2023 for 'Prisoners of Occupation' and others.
Performance Overview
Modern Korean Theater Performance
Co-produced by Natori Office and Universal Theater Company
'The Fourth Person'