In an empty room illuminated by neon lights, a young woman stands on a treadmill, dressed simply and practically, her hair tied back, her face calm and impassive, ready for action. Driven by the machine and its increasingly loud noises, the performer walks and walks – mechanically and routinely – without a destination. Her head turns and her arms swing in time with her steps. Minimal, quasi-automated sequences of movement are repeated, faster and faster, accompanied by occasional twitching and trembling fingers.
“workpiece” reflects the everyday conditions of industrial productivity and its effects on the body. This solo performance by Lithuanian choreographer Anna-Marija Adomaitytė is based on her own work experience in a fast food restaurant as well as interviews with colleagues. Her piece refers to precarious, body-consuming shift work, which in Western societies is mostly performed by migrants and creates its own socio-economic microcosm. In the midst of the fast food industry, where human desires and alienation collide, the divisive violence of social inequality comes into focus.