The 23rd Miryang Performing Arts Festival Opens on the 21st

Preparing to Welcome Visitors with a Rich Program at Miryang Arena

The 23rd Miryang Performing Arts Festival, Korea's representative theater festival, will be held at Miryang Arena for nine days from the 21st to the 29th.

Hosted by Gyeongsangnam-do Province and Miryang City, and organized by the Miryang Cultural Tourism Foundation and the Miryang Performing Arts Festival Promotion Committee, this year's festival marks its 23rd edition. Under the theme "Theater! Imagination Beyond Imagination," it is prepared with a total of 88 performances and events by 57 teams.

The opening work is "When I See the Rainbow in the Wide Sky, My Heart Dances," directed by Koo Tae-hwan of Theater Company Su, featuring famous actor Son Byung-ho. It is the grand prize winner of the 2020 Seoul Theater Festival and can be seen on the 21st at 7:30 PM at Seongbyeok Theater.

The closing work is "A Midsummer Night's Harmony Concert," held on the 29th at 7:30 PM at Seongbyeok Theater, featuring the Western Symphony Orchestra led by Miryang-born conductor Bang Sung-ho, one of the top orchestras in Korea. It will be presented in a newly attempted musical gala show format, expected to fill the midsummer night with beautiful melodies and music.

This year's Seongbyeok grand productions start with "When I See the Rainbow in the Wide Sky, My Heart Dances," followed by Daekyeong University's "The King: You Are the Young Hero," which conveys youthful passion, Kim Seong-no's "Two Heroes," about martyr Sa-myeong and Tokugawa Ieyasu, and "Equus," a masterpiece of the era presenting a powerful stage.

The Daehangno Battle, composed of recommended plays from Daehangno, includes the national theater "Liar," the romantic musical "We Will Make Your Love Come True," the horror play "Two Women" to blow away the midnight heat, the realistic love story "Meet at 7," the well-made band live musical "Singer Lovewriter," the healing comedy play "Suspicious Landlord," and the intentionally funny fusion historical comedy "By Chance," all available at the tent theater.

The Recommended Works Exhibition features "Clumsy Romance," a story of clumsy people's clumsy love; "Story of the Conch Star," a steady seller in the theater world; "Spy List," a record of betrayal by independence activists; "Nanpa, Family," the grand prize winner of the 41st Gyeongsangnam-do Theater Festival reflecting on the meaning of family; "Jude," selected for the 10th Korea New Director Exhibition, expressing anxieties about future society; and "Once SF: The Last Message Left by Laika Traveling the Universe," selected for the 13th Seoul Future Theater Festival, preparing diverse and unique genres of theater.

Also, plays containing Miryang's stories such as "The Reason for Loving the Stars," "Mono Musical Eunju," and the musical "Independence Army Arirang," which holds memories of Miryang's independence movement history, will be performed at Dream Theater and Studio 1 Theater.

There are also puppet shows for children and families, including "Hammer and Big Guy, The Three Little Pigs" and the environmental music play "Hello Pengu."

The University Theater Festival and MZ Director Exhibition, providing opportunities for young domestic creators and experimental stages, will be held at Studio 1 and 2 Theaters, and the Yoon Dae-sung Playwright Award will select and award one work through competition.

After the opening and closing ceremonies, "City of Aurora" will be a special aurora show covering the sky of Miryang Arena, allowing attendees to feel the excitement of the festival. Additionally, a talk concert with the festival's ambassadors?actors Son Sook, Lee Jae-yong, and musical actress Hong Ji-min?will create a festival space where audiences and actors come together.

This theater festival will open Korea's only theater art market, an offline distribution platform, providing opportunities for practical achievements through exchanges among domestic performance distribution officials, festival officials, and performing arts experts, contributing to the revitalization of Korean theater.

In addition, the festival offers a rich variety of attractions such as the "PLF Market" and the "Half's Imagination Museum Exhibition," where visitors can experience upcycling and view exhibitions.

Mayor Park Il-ho stated, "The Miryang Performing Arts Festival is a representative performing arts festival of Korea where you can experience the essence of high-quality and diverse performing arts," and added, "We will make it a solid festival that provides citizens with opportunities to enjoy culture and contributes to revitalizing the downtown commercial district through the influx of external tourists."

Tickets can be purchased on YES24, and detailed information about the works and citizen ticket reservations can be found on the official website.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.