Before there was science, there were other ways for human beings to explain disasters and diseases, thunder storms and floods. In many cultures, demons and monsters were linked to the misfortune that could not be explained otherwise. In Japan, the concept of yokai, phenomenon spirits, is a great example for such folkloristic believes – and maybe the most detailed one. As in many animistic cultures, all natural or manmade objects possess a spirit and can become a demon.

SPOOKAI features the uncanny in today’s contemporary world. Post Theater reflects on spirits and monsters with a trans-cultural approach.
The audiences of SPOOKAI experiences yokai on a guided tour to several installations. Post Theater has researched yokai and bridge the discourse around them to technology. One type yokai is especially prominent in SPOOKAI: tsukumogami – thing-yokai who emerge after 100 years out of any manmade object, and take revenge for being mistreated by their former owners…

SPOOKAI is an accessible multi-media performance experience, playing with the popular genre of haunted houses, a fair ground attraction or side-show in which the audience hopes to become scared by monsters and ghosts. Post Theater is less interested in shocking the audience. They rather want the audience to reflect their anxieties and their relationship to objects, including digital devices. The project is multi-layered and simultaneously addresses adult and younger audiences. The performance combines animation, animated objects, audio-drama, sound installation and video-art in order to weave a net of different narratives and pieces of information.