Extending the festival experience beyond its main programme, George Town Festival partners with Ansan Street Arts Festival (ASAF) for a special post-festival collaboration featuring South Korean street performers. GTF × ASAF brings the energy and creativity of South Korea’s outdoor performing arts scene to Penang for a special weekend of performances, movement and discovery.
The two-day programme features four distinctive works: “An Old House”, a visual and movement-based meditation on change and shared humanity; “Dokkaebi’s Dream Site”, a contemporary dance work inspired by Korean folklore; “Come On Baby”, a playful tabletop puppet show about the journey of life; and “Click Click”, a joyful non-verbal performance combining magic, mask theatre, physical comedy and audience participation.
Together, these works offer different perspectives on identity, family, resilience, memory and connection, while showcasing the imagination and diversity of South Korea’s outdoor performing arts scene.
Taking place at Design Village Outlet Mall, the programme brings the spirit of outdoor performance into an open public setting, offering audiences of all ages a chance to experience captivating performances beyond the traditional theatre.
An Old House
Times: 4pm & 8pm
An old house holds countless stories, much like a person’s life. As time passes, humans endure a journey of transformation, mirroring an old dwelling marked by the passage of years. Two men, confronting what has changed and what remains unaltered in their lives, strive to find themselves through the other: so alike yet different, so different yet alike. Through expressive movement and visual storytelling, the performance unfolds as a quiet meditation on change, reminding us that while every journey is unique, our shared humanity often lies in the spaces where our stories meet.
Dokkaebi’s Dream Site
Times: 4.30pm & 7.30pm
Inspired by the legendary Korean “dokkaebi” (goblin), “Dokkaebi Dream Site” is a site-specific contemporary dance performance that reimagines folklore through the lens of modern life. Once portrayed as mischievous spirits reflecting human fears and desires, the “dokkaebi” is reimagined here as symbols of a new generation navigating uncertainty, housing insecurity, and the pressures of contemporary society.
Through choreography, sound, costumes, and visual elements, the performance creates a living landscape where Korean folklore meets present-day reality. The performers embody young “dokkaebi” searching for belonging and survival within a rapidly changing society.
Blending traditional cultural narratives with contemporary movement, “Dokkaebi Dream Site” invites audiences to discover the connection between myth and modern life while reflecting on universal themes of identity, resilience, and community.
Come On Baby
Times: 5pm & 8.30pm
Inside the womb of every mother living in this era, there lies a brand-new world. And living within that world is a “Baby Engineer” who creates babies. After waiting for a long time, the Baby Engineer finally obtains a baby seed and, with the engineer’s help, brings a new life into being. Inside, this newly created life battles through various obstacles until it finally emerges into the world, where it at last meets its mother.
Come on Baby is a tabletop puppet show that depicts the protagonist’s journey through various stages of evolution, training to reach the destination, and facing diverse hardships and challenges through mime and puppetry. It delivers the complex and vibrant process of life coming into existence in an enjoyable and easy-to-understand manner for all audiences. Through this journey, the show emphasizes the significance of overcoming adversity and achieving one’s purpose.
Click Click
Time: 5.30pm & 9pm
What begins as a simple attempt to take a family photograph soon unfolds into a heartwarming journey filled with laughter, magic, and cherished memories. “Click Click” follows an elderly couple as they navigate the charming mishaps of capturing the perfect picture, revealing a touching story about love, family, and the moments that bind us together.
Presented by South Korea’s Lumos Theatre, the non-verbal performance combines magic, mask theatre, object play, physical comedy, and audience participation to create a joyful theatrical experience that transcends language. Bursting with humour, warmth, and imagination, “Click Click” invites audiences of all ages to celebrate the beauty of connection through the universal language of play.
