A 'spectacle' about 'hope and resilience': Award-winning 'Life of Pi' play to open in Seoul
Published: 26 Nov. 2025, 15:53
Updated: 30 Nov. 2025, 16:57
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- LEE JIAN
- [email protected]
![A scene from the international touring production of "Life of Pi" [JOHAN PERSSON]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/30/5e691552-5f92-4d12-a52e-348775bfe9e3.jpg)
A scene from the international touring production of "Life of Pi" [JOHAN PERSSON]
From its life-size puppetry and award-winning visual effects to star actors, “Life of Pi” is undoubtedly a dazzling production, but it offers more than pizzazz, according to its creatives on Wednesday.
Set to open at the GS Arts Center on Dec. 2, the show is adapted from Yann Martel’s Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name. The story centers on a 16-year-old boy, nicknamed “Pi,” from India, who is shipwrecked and forced to survive at sea alongside a Bengal tiger.
It first premiered in Sheffield, Britain, in 2019 before transferring to West End and Broadway.
![Associate movement and puppetry director Kate Rowsell, left, international director Leigh Toney, center, and S&Co Chief Producer Shin Dong-won speak to reporters about "Life of Pi" at the GS Arts Center in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Nov. 26. [S&CO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/30/16207b3e-d6b9-41f0-b4e0-15389ed9a60f.jpg)
Associate movement and puppetry director Kate Rowsell, left, international director Leigh Toney, center, and S&Co Chief Producer Shin Dong-won speak to reporters about "Life of Pi" at the GS Arts Center in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Nov. 26. [S&CO]
“You would think it [would be] unstageable, but that is what piqued the interest of Max Webster, the [...] director of the [originating] production,” Leigh Toney, the director of the international production, told reporters at the GS Arts Center in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. “That theatrical challenge was part of the appeal.”
The production has drawn global acclaim for its inventive stagecraft, especially its puppetry. In a historic win, seven puppeteers shared the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role — the first time the prize was awarded to puppeteers.
“I think the most important part of the rehearsal process is building connection,” Kate Rowsell, the associate movement and puppetry director, said at the same event. “To manipulate one object between three people requires an understanding of each other’s rhythm, signals, breath — all of us coming together to create a single living creature. That takes a long time to learn.”
The tiger is operated by rotating teams of three puppeteers.
“Each tiger team has its own personality and impulses,” Roswell added. “So you’re getting a fresh show every single time.”
![A scene from the international touring production of "Life of Pi" [JOHAN PERSSON]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/30/733f69f7-b3ec-4c38-bfa8-4aea20bf20e7.jpg)
A scene from the international touring production of "Life of Pi" [JOHAN PERSSON]
The production’s visual and audio effects have also been critically lauded, winning Best Scenic Design and Best Lighting Design at both the Oliviers and the Tonys, as well as a Tony for Best Sound Design of a Play.
Still, Toney emphasized that the spectacle is a means — not the point.
“The [visuals] and music make the show immersive, but we also ask the audience to be part of a co-creation,” she said. “You have to come on the journey with Pi, use your imagination and help bring the animals and the story to life. It becomes a kind of hypertheatrical experience.”
![A scene from the international touring production of "Life of Pi" [JOHAN PERSSON]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/30/3ac08444-500c-4c33-82e5-0807348066be.jpg)
A scene from the international touring production of "Life of Pi" [JOHAN PERSSON]
The Seoul production marks the first time that the show is being performed in another language, with an entirely Korean cast and puppetry team. Park Jeong-min — known for his film work in “Bleak Night” (2011), “Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet” (2016) and “Deliver Us from Evil” (2020) — and musical theater actor Park Kang-hyun alternate the lead role of Pi.
“Just working with two actors who [...] represent the film and theater world in Korea [respectively] is an honor,” said Producer Shin Dong-won, the head of the local production company S&Co bringing the touring show to Korea. “Their presence alone creates two very different interpretations of Pi. Park Jeong-min has extraordinary emotional nuance [...] while Park Kang-hyun has a powerful command of the stage. Audiences will become immersed in Pi’s vivid, raw [...] journey.”
![Actor Park Jeong-min in rehearsal for "Life of Pi" [S&CO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/30/0c7b2f3e-94c7-47d2-a2f5-418ebbe67138.jpg)
Actor Park Jeong-min in rehearsal for "Life of Pi" [S&CO]
![Actor Park Kang-hyun in rehearsal for "Life of Pi" [S&CO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/30/44785c7a-86ca-4575-9c4f-14837b00411c.jpg)
Actor Park Kang-hyun in rehearsal for "Life of Pi" [S&CO]
[The role is physically demanding and emotionally challenging, Toney added. “Finding hope within the darkness is essential to playing Pi — and both Jeong-min and Kang-hyun strike that balance beautifully.”
But despite its talented cast and stagecraft, the director stressed that at the heart of the show is its message.
“It’s a story of hope, resilience and endurance and how we choose the stories that help us move forward,” she said. “That feels especially important in the world today.”
BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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