Haeoreum Grand Theater (National Theater of Korea)
Though the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has been threatening the local performing arts scene, the National Theater of Korea is gearing up for a new beginning with its 2021-22 season.
The theater announced the 2021-22 season program, which includes a total of 56 works slated to run from Sept. 1 to June 30. Most of the works will be presented at the newly renovated Haeoreum Grand Theater, which is to officially open in September.
The season will kick off with the National Orchestra of Korea’s “Sound of Millennium” performance on Sept. 1. The orchestra will be joined by the National Chorus of Korea and pansori master Ahn Sook-seon.
The National Changgeuk Company of Korea is scheduled to premiere “The Show: HeungBo,” Sept. 15-21. Based on the original pansori work “Heungboga,” it has been described as a “fantasy changgeuk,” referring to a traditional form of Korean opera. Installation artist Choi Jeong-hwa takes part in the work as a scenographer. Master singer Ahn joins the show as well.
The National Dance Company of Korea is to present “See You, I’m Home” from Nov. 11-13. Inspired by Korea’s shamanism and ritual culture, it is the company’s first production to be presented at the newly renovated theater.
Jang Young-gyu, a member of alternative pop band Leenalchi, is participating in the work as a composer and music director. Yun Jae-won, concept writer of hit Netflix series “The School Nurse Files,” will direct the show.
Apart from the performances by the three resident companies at the theater, the Korean National Ballet, Korea National Opera, National Chorus of Korea and more will perform diverse genres of works from opera, ballet to classical music at the Haeoreum Grand Theater over the season.
The theater, which has been running NT Live screenings, the online offerings of the National Theatre in London, will screen musical “Police” and drama “Cyrano de Bergerac” this season.
Haeoreum Grand Theater (National Theater of Korea)
It also plans to expand the international screening program through its new NTOK Live+ program, screening European theater works such as “Live Oedipus” by the Internationaal Theater Amsterdam in the Netherlands and “Les Fourberies de Scapin” by the Comedie-Francaise in France.
The National Theater of Korea has invited “Ultraworld,“ directed by Susanne Kennedy, to perform Nov. 25-27. The play, which is set in a virtual world inside of a computer game and questions the existence of human beings, had its premiere in 2020 at Volksbuhne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz Berlin in Germany. While the German production team under the Volksbuhne Berlin is expected to go onstage, an NTK official said the situation remains fluid because the quarantine issue remains under discussion.
“Sopro,” written by Portuguese writer and director Tiago Rodríguez, who has been appointed as the director of the Avignon Festival, will take to the stage June 17-19.
Tickets for the performances will be available some two months before the shows. As the COVID-19 pandemic has yet to be resolved, the National Theater of Korea plans to sell tickets on a monthly basis. Tickets for shows in September opened Wednesday.
