Puppets take center stage as intricate productions captivate audiences

A different kind of performer is commanding Korean stages this year — one made of wood, cloth and strings, yet startlingly alive. Puppet-centered productions are drawing audiences by turning movement into story and making the thrill of live theater feel newly urgent.

“Life of Pi” ranked first in total ticket sales in the theater category in January, according to the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (Kopis). Among productions classified as musicals, “Spirited Away” took the top spot. Both are based on acclaimed film and animation originals, while using puppetry to offer audiences a stage experience distinct from their source material.

“Life of Pi” tells the story of a boy named Pi, stranded on a lifeboat in the open sea with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

In the Korean production, actors Park Jeong-min and Park Kang-hyun have been praised for their performances as Pi. But the animals brought to life by puppets and puppeteers command just as much attention. The zebra, orangutan and hyena appear as puppets with exposed joints rather than fully covered bodies, a design choice that adds vividness to their movement.

The highlight is Richard Parker, performed as one creature by three puppeteers moving in perfect sync. The tiger’s low, prowling gait and curling tail are so convincing that audiences find themselves fully immersed despite knowing it is a puppet. When the tiger attacks the zebra and clamps down, fear and anger ripple through the theater.

“I loved the original film, but Richard Parker onstage was scarier than in the original,” said one audience member.

After premiering in London’s West End in 2021, “Life of Pi” won major honors at the 2022 Laurence Olivier Awards, where the seven performers who animate the tiger jointly won best actor in a supporting role, underscoring the outsize presence the puppetry brings to the production.

The puppeteers are not hidden, but that once the story takes hold, audiences may have the uncanny experience of no longer noticing them, according to Leigh Toney, credited as the director of the international production for the Korean licensed staging.

“The show is a mesmerizing pull,” said pop culture columnist Kim Kyung-jin. “Standout acting drives immersion to the limit, the sets are meticulous sets and the inventive animal puppets are striking.” The production runs through March 2 at GS Arts Center in Gangnam District, southern Seoul.

Puppetry also plays a major role in “Spirited Away.” The stage adaptation faithfully recreates Hayao Miyazaki’s animated classic, following Chihiro after her family enters a forbidden world of spirits and she ends up working at a bathhouse run by the witch Yubaba.

At the same time, the production adds a different kind of charm through puppetry, with movements that can feel delicate one moment and exaggerated the next. The precise motion of puppets, guided by puppeteers, brings scenes to life, from soot sprites working together to carry Chihiro’s shoes to the procession of gods arriving at the bathhouse.

Another memorable moment comes when more than 10 performers become a single body inside a massive puppet to portray No-Face as it devours bathhouse workers one after another.

First produced in Japan in 2022, the stage adaptation is directed and adapted by John Caird, the original director of the musical “Les Miserables,” with Maoko Imai credited as co-adaptor.

The biggest challenge and the hardest part was bringing animation’s magical moments to life in a live performance, according to Caird, The director added that he wanted to draw out the audience’s imagination through puppetry. 

The Korean premiere, performed by the original Japanese cast, runs through March 22 at the Opera Theater at Seoul Arts Center in Seocho District, southern Seoul.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY HA NAM-HYUN [[email protected]]