By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
The Seoul Performing Arts Festival (SPAF) 2009 will feature about 40 performances from 12 nations: Russia, Hungary, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Poland, Norway, Canada, Australia, Japan, China and Korea.
The 40-day festival from Oct. 13 to Nov. 21 will take place at the Arko Arts Theater, Daehangno Arts Theater, Seoul Arts Center, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Myeongdong Theater and Namsan Arts Center.
Under the theme of “Analog & Digilog,” the ninth festival will highlight the fundamental elements of performing arts ― the past, the present and the future.
“Many people think (performing) arts are far from technology,” said Kim Chul-lee, artistic director of the SPAF, in a press conference. “But leading artists have adopted the technology of the time on stage. Performing arts have always interacted with the state-of-the-art technology. But I want to emphasize although digital technology develops, human beings are central in any kind of stage performances. So we chose the theme as ‘Analog & Digilog,’ which puts much emphasis on analog or human beings in the digital era.”
Kim said, in line with the theme, this year’s festival focuses on performances using digital devices and technology such as “Norman (A Tribute to Norman McLaren)” from Canada, “The Age I’m In” from Australia, “Yesterday” from the United Kingdom and “Moscow, Psycho” from Russia.
The director said that organizers will collaborate with a French troupe for next year to present the works both in France and Korea, when the festival marks its 10th anniversary.
Kim said that this year’s line-up boasts a more diverse program with innovative Korean and overseas works.
“Norman” is an amalgamation of reality and fantasy, drama, dance and imagery. It represents, in essence, cutting-edge stage art of the 21st century. Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon have incorporated the latest technology into this performance to produce chaos that blurs the boundary between reality and fantasy. The inspiration and work of the great Canadian film animator Norman McLaren are brought back to life.
“Moscow, Psycho” is a work by Andrei Zholdak, the Ukrainian director and award winner of a citation from UNESCO for his contribution to the development of world drama in 2004. The text has been combined with Alfred Hitchcock’s film “Psycho” (1960) to expose the violence and madness of modern society. The audience will be haunted by moments of deja vu throughout the piece.
Another work not to be missed is “A Dance Tribute to the Art of Football,” which displays exquisite dance dealing with football. A variety of movements and situations seen in football games are transformed into dance with a comic twist to reflect the energy and sweat of the sport.
“Tokyo Notes,” which premiered in 1994, describes the gradual disintegration of family relations in modern society within the surroundings of an art museum. It is one of the most representative works by Hirata Oriza and the Seinendan Theater Company and has received rave reviews both in Japan and abroad. The piece was adapted into "Seoul Notes" by the Park Theater Company in Seoul in the spring of 2003 and received critical acclaim.
Korean productions have carefully been chosen to show the quality of modern-day Korean theater. “Beat Your Youth on the Back,” a play written by Choi Won-Jong, and selected as part of the Young Artist Support Project, will be on stage at the festival. The performance depicts the purity, energy, desire and pain of the younger generation.
“Romeo and Juliet” is the first piece for 2009 by the National Changgeuk Company of Korea and its first adaptation of a foreign play, attempting to prove that “changgeuk” (Korean traditional opera) can perform classical European works.
“Once Upon a Ballad” is a four-and-a-half-hour performance which won the Grand Prix Awards for Best Director, Best Female Performer, Best Drama, Best Stage Art and Best Technical Awards at the Dong-a Drama Awards last year.
“Don’t Be Shocked,” directed by Park Kun-hyung, is a drama which drew attention and received high acclaim from both critics and the audience for the fine acting, superb directorship and dramatic structure.
The festival offers three packages ― Digilog, Global Appeal and Multibuy. The Digilog program consists of “Norman,” “The Age I’m In,” “Yesterday” and “Moscow, Psycho.” There is a 35 percent discount for this package.
The Global Appeal package will present “AMLETO Nella Carne il Silenzio,” “Therese Raquin,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Hamlet,” “Hwa Chub-Gong Mu Doh Hwa” and “Symphoca Princess Bari ― This World.” The package offers foreign audiences English subtitles for all the performances, as well as a 35 percent discount. The Global Appeal works were chosen by the foreign monitoring members of the festival.
The Multibuy offers a 30 percent discount on full ticket prices when selecting a minimum of five performances.
English information is available at www.spaf.or.kr/english. For booking in English, call (02) 3673-2561 or email englishbooking@gmail.com.