SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - The Seoul Performing Arts Festival returns in October with a lineup led by a stage adaptation of Han Kang's "We Do Not Part," starring Isabelle Huppert and Lee Hye-young.
Now in its 26th edition, SPAF runs Oct. 8-25 at venues across Seoul under the theme "Multiverse of Art." The festival is organized by the Korea Arts Management Service, with support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Arts Council Korea.
This year's program includes 19 works: seven international productions, five premieres from SPAF's partner artists, five Korean works in the newly launched PAMS×SPAF Choice program and two staged readings from the festival's Asian playwriting lab — a lineup that reflects SPAF's shift from simply hosting visiting shows to following productions through development, presentation and eventual touring.
The centerpiece is "The Bird," a staged reading of Han Kang's novel "We Do Not Part" directed by Julie Deliquet of Paris's La Colline National Theatre and starring Huppert and Lee. The work premiered at the Avignon Festival in July before making its way to Seoul.
Avignon's imprint on the lineup goes beyond that one production. "Distance Between Us," a play by Avignon artistic director Tiago Rodrigues, follows a daughter who leaves for Mars and the father she leaves behind, while "Reminiscencia," a documentary theater piece by Malicho Vaca Valenzuela, draws on personal and urban memory. Rounding out the international slate are French choreographer Mathilde Monnier's "Soapéra, Installation" and "Blur: When the Boundary Blurs," an XR work pairing live performance with virtual reality that was invited to the Venice International Film Festival's immersive competition in 2025.
Among the Korean premieres, the opera "The Third War" — written and directed by Park Bon — stands out as one of the festival's major co-productions. The work began in 2024 with the Asia Culture Center, was shown as a work-in-progress at SPAF last year, and premiered in Gwangju in May ahead of its Seoul run, featuring soprano Yeree Suh, actor Kang Ae-sim and Anupam Tripathi of "Squid Game."
SPAF is also introducing PAMS×SPAF Choice this year, a new program run with the Performing Arts Market in Seoul that presents five full-length Korean works to both general audiences and industry professionals.
On the writing side, the festival's creative lab will stage readings of two contemporary Asian plays: Hong Kong writer Pat To Yan's "Neometropolis" and Japanese writer Yudai Kamisato's "Descending the Long Slope of Valparaíso."
Early-bird tickets go on sale Aug. 14 at 2 p.m. and run through Aug. 21, with a 40 percent discount on select performances and a four-ticket limit per person. National Theater of Korea shows are excluded from the discount, and tickets for "The Bird" and several premieres will be sold separately starting in early September.
AJP Takeaway:
- The 26th Seoul Performing Arts Festival will run from Oct. 8 to 25 in Seoul under the theme “Multiverse of Art.”
- The lineup includes 19 works, ranging from seven international invited productions to Korean premieres, PAMS×SPAF Choice selections and Asian playwriting lab readings.
- The headline international work is “The Bird,” a staged reading based on Han Kang’s “We Do Not Part,” directed by Julie Deliquet and starring Isabelle Huppert and Lee Hye-young.
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