Speechless is a solo work by Heung Won Lee that draws on a personal family experience to explore questions of life, ageing, vulnerability and perseverance. At the heart of the piece is the image of his father after suffering a stroke—a person slowly moving forward despite his physical limitations. From this image emerges a reflection on those moments when life becomes difficult, on the responsibility we have towards our own lives, and on how we might come to accept their inevitable impermanence.
Through intensely physical movement, Lee searches for an answer to what it means to keep going when we cannot control what lies ahead. His movement language combines contemporary dance, breakdancing, martial arts, flow acrobatics and improvisation, creating a body that is at once vulnerable and resilient. Speechless does not offer clear answers, but remains with the question: when walking becomes difficult, do we give up—or do we keep moving?
