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Songs of the Wayfarer
Claire Cunningham

Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm – Saal

Sun. 3.11. I 6 pm
World premiere, performance with audio description and haptic access tour, relaxed performance

Mon. 4.11. I 8 pm
Performance with audio description and haptic access tour, relaxed performance, translation into German sign language and Deaf Performanc, meet the artist afterwards

Tue. 5.11. I 8 pm
Performance with audio description and haptic access tour, relaxed performance

Duration: 75 min.
Language: English
Tickets: 25€/ reduced 12€

I really love turning into this sort of four-legged creature. All the little places that you can wedge the crutch really right into a corner or into a crack. In Scotland, we’d say 'nooks and crannies'. I get so lost in that sort of play…when the ground really becomes… my companion.”

Inspired, in part, by Gustav Mahler's ‘Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen’, led by her lived-experience as a disabled person, her memory of training as a classical singer and knowledge drawn from mountaineers and disabled peers, Claire Cunningham sets out to make a show where she traverses known and unfamiliar landscapes.

In this new solo Cunningham asks: what it is to wander? To seek to scale great heights? What can be learned from those of us who reach for the ground through crutches as 4-legged creatures, the choreography of crip* navigation and the maps we would re-draw? Of scale and time and energy?  What it means to keep going and, importantly, the wisdom to know when to turn back.

Join this internationally-renowned Disabled leader and choreographer for an evening-length work, where she comes to understand her own journey as a love song - to the ground, to her disabled peers and the innate wisdom of crip* expertise and joy. 

In the solo performance ‘Songs of the Wayfarer’, disabled choreographer and singer Claire Cunningham traverses landscapes of nature, stage and Gustav Mahler’s song cycle, led by the compass of crip* expertise and joy.


*Crip is a political and cultural identity embraced by some disabled individuals

Concept, choreography and performance: Claire Cunningham
Co-director: Dan Watson
Dramaturgy: Luke Pell
Artistic collaboration: Julia Watts Belser
Set and costume design: Bethany Wells
Sound Engineering: Matthias Herrmann
Lighting design: Chris Copland
Video design: Michelle Ettlin
Executive Producer: Nadja Dias
Project & Access Producer: Vicky Wilson
Production Manager: Gregor Knüppel
Sound engineer: Keir Martin
Stage Manager: Anastasia Booth
Artistic Access Consultants: Nelly Kelly, Panthea, Angela Alves, Rita Mazza, Naomi Sanfo-Ansorge
Mountaineering Consultants: Cormac Lynch, Simone Kenyon
Administrative support (for HZT): Susanne Adam & Jeanette Gogoll
DGS interpreting: Dodzi Dougban, Sarena Bockers
Audio description script: Claire Cunningham, Julia Watts Belser
Translation audio description (German): Leo Naomi Baur, Agnes Ehlich
Recording audio description (German): Juli Reinartz
Surtitling: Maria Wünsche (Panthea)

'Songs of the Wayfarer' is a Claire Cunningham production, co-produced by Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm Frankfurt am Main as part of the Tanzplattform Rhein-Main, No Limits Festival Hong Kong, Next Festival Kortrijk, HAU Hebbel am Ufer & No Limits Festival Berlin, Kammerspiele Munich, Sadler's Wells London and Dampfzentrale Bern. Created as part of the Einstein Strategy Professorship “Choreography, Dance and Disability Arts” at HZT Berlin.
The co-production of Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm is supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media as part of the Alliance of International Production Houses . Supported by f.f.m - Freunde und Förderer des Mousonturms e.V.

Relaxed Performance

All performances of Songs of the Wayfarer are ‘Relaxed’. 
For us, this means:

  • You are free to sit where you like (including on the beanbags and cushions, and seats on the stage)
  • You can leave and come back, or leave and don’t come back
  • Please feel free to vocalise or stim in a way that is safe for you.
  • There will be a box of access aids (including dark glasses, ear defenders and fidget toys in the foyer before the show).  Please borrow whatever you need; please return them after the performance.
  • You are also welcome to bring your own access aids.

 

Entering the stage area

  • When you come into the theatre, Claire will already be on stage.  She will be moving around and may come and talk to you.
  • On stage, there will be a big mountain sculpture made out of crutches.  Please do not touch it.
  • You can choose your own seat but should not sit on the ones marked in Orange.  You can also sit on the beanbags, cushions, mats and chairs that are on the stage. If you sit in one of these seats, Claire will come near you but will not touch you.
  • At some shows, a sign language interpreter will be on stage as you come in. Their position will help you decide where to sit, if you need to see them.  You can also ask their advice on where to sit
  • You will be able to see captions as you come in so you can decide where you can best see them from, if you need to.
  • If you sit beside a seat that is marked in orange, Claire will come close to you.  She will not deliberately touch you.

 

Guide Talk

  • When the show starts, Claire will climb into the first row of the audience to welcome you to the show and will describe some sensory information.
  • The lights will go as bright and as dark as they will during the show.  There is no flashing or strobe lighting and the transitions are gentle. Even in the darkest moments there will be some light from the fire escape signs and the projections – it may take a moment for your eyes to adjust.
  • The sound will go as loud and as quiet as it will during the show, the transitions are gentle.  The sound will move around the stage.
  • Claire will point out where she will move in the theatre. If you sit in a seat with orange markets, she will probably come quite close to you.
  • Claire sings in German, in an operatic style, she will demonstrate this at the beginning of the show. The captions will help you understand what she is singing.
  • There will be projections on the floor, and on the white paper at the back of the stage.  The projections on the floor more, and might be disorientating for some people.

Other Notes

  •  If you are sitting towards the back right of the tribune, Claire may sit near you while drinking coffee and eating biscuits. You might be able to smell them. There are no nuts in the biscuit
  • In some parts of the show, Claire will use a headtorch and lights on her crutches, these may be very bright when they are pointed in your direction.

Foto: Sven Hagolani