THEATER NOLTER to Kick Off GAF Performing Arts Festival with Harold Pinter's Signature Play 'Betrayal'

[Financial News] Harold Pinter's signature play 'Betrayal' will be staged at Guro Creative Art Hall in Seoul on the 30th. Pinter is a British playwright who received the 2005 Nobel Prize in Literature.
According to THEATER NOLTER on the 22nd, 'Betrayal,' which depicts human relationships slowly fracturing between lies and silence, is the first competition production of the 2026 GAF (Glocal Acting Festival) Performing Arts Festival. It is one of seven works selected as promising arts festival entries under the Seoul Arts Festival Support Program. The festival is hosted by the GAF Performing Arts Festival and supported by the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture (SFAC).
'Betrayal' premiered at the National Theatre of Great Britain in 1978 and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Play of the Year the following year. The production highlights Pinter's distinctive dramatic aesthetic, which reveals the characters' emotions and the tension in their relationships not only through dialogue but also through 'silence' and 'pauses.'
The play explores the reality of lies and betrayal through the love triangle involving Robert, his wife Emma, and Robert's closest friend, Jerry. Moving between the past and present, the three maintain a precarious relationship while concealing their true feelings. Even in moments of silence, they doubt one another and probe each other's hidden thoughts. Their emotional fractures, concealed beneath ordinary life, unfold as a tense black comedy. The production's appeal lies in tracking the thoughts hidden behind the dialogue, creating the suspense of watching a 'truth game.'
Director Lee Jae-yoon said, "I looked beyond the question of 'Who betrayed whom?' to ask, 'Why don't people tell the truth?'" He added, "Rather than judging who is right or wrong, I hope audiences will reflect on whether they, too, are hiding something in their relationships."
Kim Young-rae, a professor in Shinhan University's Department of Performing Arts, plays Robert. Lee Eun-ji, a professor in Seoul Institute of the Arts' Department of Acting, plays Emma, while actor and THEATER NOLTER head Park Sang-seok takes the role of Jerry. Composer Lee Jang-wook serves as music director, and film director Kim Young-seok is the dramaturg. Kim Gyu-ri is the assistant director, actor Lee Hyun-seo handles planning, and Park Jae-jung is in charge of publicity.
Meanwhile, the GAF Performing Arts Festival, now in its 14th year, is a professional multidisciplinary performing arts festival featuring groups from theater, musicals, dance, and other genres. It aims to build a performing arts ecosystem connecting southwestern Seoul with Daehangno. This year's theme is 'Growth: The Seeds of Art Spread!' Seven performance teams based in Seoul will compete in the festival.
The festival opens on the 27th and will present each team's production in succession, beginning with 'Betrayal' on the 30th, before closing on the 25th of next month.
Tickets cost 15,000 won for all seats, and admission is restricted to those aged 14 and older. Tickets are available through NOL Ticket, and people with disabilities receive a 20% discount.

[email protected] Shin Jin-ah Reporter