An ordinary domestic object becomes a rabbit hole into migrant labour, distorted histories of industrialisation, gendered bodies, and the systems that decide whose work—and whose life—is disposable.
Drawing on the language of instruction manuals, the piece transforms cleaning, repair, and repetition into a surreal theatrical performance. As the performers attempt to fix the machine, the boundaries between worker and appliance begin to collapse. Bodies malfunction, instructions fail, and the promise of efficiency gives way to resistance.
Combining sound, movement, and vocal performance, User Manual for a Failed Machine is playful, unsettling, and visually inventive. It asks what happens when people are treated like machines, and what forms of care, solidarity, and collective survival might emerge when those machines finally refuse to function.
Director: Namoo Chae Lee
Choreographer: Suyoung Park
Composer: Seayool Kim