Seoul Marginal Theatre Festival celebrates 20th anniversary

The 20th Seoul Marginal Theatre Festival (SMTFestival) will be held in four locations, including Shinchon Arts Space in Seodaemun, Seoul, from next Wednesday to July 10. The festival has showcased plays crossing boundaries from the perspective of the marginalized.

This year’s theme is “Recollection” and diverse and experimental plays about memories will be showcased by nine teams. “The Bear Does All the Tricks” was selected as the opening play and will be performed from next Wednesday to July 3. It is about the strike and well-being of the circus animals. “Connections” by modern artist Chang Jia (Wednesday to July 10) is a project created by the members of the theater companies participating in the festival. It touches on a sense of physical distance through greeting actions. “Hate Play” (July 9 and 10) is a piece about various forms of hate in society.

In addition, “2032 Angeles in America” (July 1 and 2) will be showcased against the backdrop of the South Korean theatrical world in the 2030s when queer plays became a mainstream genre. “The Question of Faeries” (July 3 and 4) deals with murders that took place in 2016 at a facility for the handicapped in Sagamihara, Japan. “Journal of Disaster_Death of a Theatrical Producer” (July 6 and 7) is a documentary performance of the record of tragedy experienced by actor Hong Sa-bin using artificial intelligent speakers.

“The pandemic has become an opportunity to stop and look back on the past life,” said the art director of the SMTFestival, Lee Kyung-sung. “I hope the festival will encourage its audience to reflect on the current from their own perspectives.”


pep@donga.com