No Limits to present Asia premiere of Claire Cunningham’s acclaimed “Songs of the Wayfarer” in March

An experimental, thought-provoking piece of theatre, Cunningham invites the audience on a hiking trip, spontaneously breaking into dance, movement, spoken words, and opera.

From a Crip perspective, the world-renowned disabled artist questions ‘ableist’ conventions and redefines our experience with nature and life’s unexpected paths.

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Claire Cunningham’s “Songs of the Wayfarer” will make its Hong Kong debut in March.

Published: 2:55pm, 8 Jan 2025

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The captivating piece, which transports the audience into barren, craggy terrain, draws comparisons between mountaineering and Cunningham’s navigation through a Crip lens.

Distinguished by its inclusivity, Crip Art recognises the unique aesthetics from the disabled experience, as opposed to the conventions of ‘ableism’. “We notice things in the world differently,” says Cunningham, who is Scottish. With warmth and enthusiasm, she invites the audience to journey along and experience this unique view of the world.

“For example, there is a large sculpture built of crutches on the stage, looking like a mountain range,” she says. “I see beauty in utilitarian objects.”

Fused with her crutches as though transformed into a four-legged creature, she explores the landscapes with dance and movement, forming an intimate relationship with nature as well as her hiking group. The ground becomes her ‘companion’. “Coming into dance made me aware of my body and how it engages with the world. I notice the ground because my head is always down, looking to see where to put my crutches,” she says.

“I grew up expecting dance performances to be fast and quick and moving all over the stage all the time,” she notes, adding that ‘ableism’ has programmed our ideas about performing arts, among numerous other aspects of our lives. “In this work, I actually want to spend time sharing the things that are important to me. We need to take our time.”

The piece has received positive reviews in Britain. (All photos by Sven Hagolani)

The UK’s premiere of Cunningham’s latest solo piece has received rave reviews. Lyndsey Winship of the Guardian, gives it four out of five stars. “... simply putting one foot, or one crutch, in front of the other, again and again, as we all must do. It’s a quiet but affecting piece.”

It’s five stars from Mary Beer at LondonTheatre1, who says “This is a beautiful 90-minute work of performance art filled with glorious melody and heart; it’s not a lecture, lament or rebuke. It’s emotionally engaging and mysteriously beautiful and sometimes funny. I can’t wait to see what Claire Cunningham does next.”

Everything Theatre’s Rachel Sarah Leveney echoes the sentiment, saying: “A wonderfully inclusive performance incorporating dance, movement, spoken word and even some opera that all together create something greater than the sum of its parts.”

A ‘relaxed performance’ with unique seating arrangements, Cunningham’s expedition begins with a monologue prepping the audience about what’s to come. A conversation with a mountaineer friend sparked her imagination. “He prepares people first with what they need to know before the hike,” she says. “I'm always interested in how I can creatively weave information into a performance while still retaining the mystery of the work.”

The narrative is woven into a trail through treacherous terrain, including a dramatic white cascade of fabric that serves both as a glacier and a train of a wedding gown. Trained as a classical singer, Cunningham’s touching rendition of Gustave Mahler’s ‘Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen’ (Songs of a Wayfarer) punctuates the dance, movement, and speech, as the crutches unlock a range of fascinating movements not possible without them. At times Cunningham appears faltering, sometimes sure-footed, not unlike how we all navigate life’s journey.

Cunningham makes some movements that are not possible without the crutches.

And just like any journey, an unexpected path emerges. Cunningham shares her personal stories in the piece. “It's one of the things that I am very good at—finding a way to tell something personal, opening it out and framing it in a way that other people can bring their own experience into it,” she notes.

A close friend and pioneering American dancer and choreographer Jess Curtis, who inspired Cunningham, passed away suddenly in 2024. “I’ve come to realise that this idea of navigation is much bigger than simply the physical act of moving,” she says, reminiscing about her musical father who inspired her to sing and her nurturing nanny. “Everything that informs our lives comes from people who matter to us … the work began to open out wider with this recognition of the loss of people. It's universal.”

However, the acknowledgement of absence is conveyed through an uplifting celebration of what these people have given to her. The piece is anything but serious and political, she notes. “It's light and gently humorous. I tend to work with humour quite often.”

Cunningham shares her personal stories in the piece.

Perhaps an appealing facet of Crip Art is to let people unleash their imagination and recognise the beauty arising from inclusivity. A conversation with her able-bodied mountaineering friend was a eureka moment: he noticed that the way she navigates the world using crutches is similar to how people navigate terrain when hiking.

This prompted her to question how we notice the world. “And oh wow, we have a lot in common. We pay attention to our energy levels, the weather, and our clothing,” she says. “We recognise not just what is unique about us, but also how similar and connected we are.”

Cunningham has received the rare honour of being awarded the Einstein Strategic Professorship of “Choreography, Dance and Disability Arts” at the Inter-University Centre for Dance (HZT) in Berlin. It is the first time that the professorship has been awarded to an arts university. Cunningham is the first artist to receive the professorship, which runs for five years.

Crip Art lets people unleash their imagination and recognise the beauty arising from inclusivity.

From October 2023 onward, she has been teaching and researching at the HZT. The experience is inspiring. “Sometimes I had students in rehearsals and was able to get their responses and thoughts,” she says.

“Songs of the Wayfarer” is a Claire Cunningham Production, co-commissioned and co-produced by Hong Kong Arts Festival’s No Limits, Mousonturm Frankfurt, Next Festival Kotrijk, HAU Hebbel am Ufer & No Limits Festival Berlin, Kammerspiele Munich, Sadler’s Wells London, and Dampfzentrale Bern. It’s also created as part of the Einstein Strategic Professorship “Choreography, Dance and Disability Arts” at the HZT.

Date

March 7, 2025, Friday, 8pm

March 8, 2025, Saturday, 8pm

March 9, 2025, Sunday, 5pm

Venue
The Box, Freespace, WestK

Website:
https://www.nolimits.hk/en/programmes/songs-wayfarer-claire-cunningham/programme