Bengal Tiger Puppetry Roars to Life in Korean Staging of "Life of Pi"
Creatrip Team
3 months ago
The stage adaptation of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi opens next month at GS Art Center in Seoul, showcasing a lifelike Bengal tiger puppet named Richard Parker brought to life by three puppeteers. Weighing 15 kg and built on a realistic skeleton with a special sponge material (plasztazote), the puppet moves with heavy breaths and agile gestures controlled by coordinated teams: one operates the head and facial features via a trigger, another handles the hind legs and tail, and all three synchronize rhythms to create convincing animal presence. The production, first staged in Sheffield (2019) and later on London’s West End and New York Broadway, labels itself “live on stage,” blending projection, music, and puppetry to transcend conventional genres. This Korean run—its first non-English-language production—stars Park Jung-min and Park Kang-hyun alternating as Pi and runs through March 2 next year. The creative team emphasizes intense rehearsal and team bonding to achieve the puppet’s powerful, shared stage presence.
