On April 16, 2007 at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Korean American Cho Seung-Hui (1984-2007) killed 32 fellow students and wounded 25 others before committing suicide. This act can be included in the series of "high school shootings," the beginning of which can be marked with the so-called "Columbine Massacre" on April 20, 1999 caused by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.

The theater script Richard McBeef is one of the two posthumous theater pieces written by Cho, and comprises a ten page typescript. The piece consists of one act enveloping one continuous scene. Our aim has been to stage Richard McBeef in a way that follows Cho's directions as precisely as possible.

However, we have made a few adjustments to the script that need to be noted here: spelling mistakes and punctuation has been corrected; stage direction about the actors' positions on stage has been clarified; the basement has been eliminated from the script as a separate level because of technical difficulties.

Cho only left marginal indications about the stage design and the on stage position of the actors; we have chosen to only render visible the objects that are explicitly mentioned in the script, or those that are absolutely essential for the staging itself.