Beyond Language: Traditional Theatres Speak Through Movement
Creatrip Team
18 days ago
The National Theater in Seoul opened the 2026 ‘Changgeuk-centered World Music Theatre Festival’ (창극 중심 세계음악극축제), presenting nine productions through Sept. 26 that showcase music-driven traditional stage arts from Korea and abroad. Two highlighted international works are Thailand’s royal masked dance-drama Khon (콘), presenting “Ramakien” — Thailand’s national epic adapted from the Indian Ramayana — with elaborate masks, costumes and stylized gestures that convey universal themes of duty, loyalty and the triumph of good; and the Shanghai Peking Opera Company’s reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet as “Prince Jidan’s Revenge,” relocating the story to an ancient Chinese-style court and using the compressed, symbolic movement, eye work and color-coded costumes of jingju (京剧, Peking opera) to express psychological conflict. Both directors emphasize that the performances overcome language barriers by relying on physicality, music and visual spectacle; Khon also preserves training rituals like the wai khru (와이 크루, teachers‑respect ceremony) and role-specific mask types, while the Peking Opera piece uses a familiar Western plot to introduce eastern performance vocabulary. The festival runs March 3–26 and includes two international guest works, four domestic guest pieces and three National Theater productions.
