Hofesh Shechter, Theatre of Dreams

"Hofesh Shechter is on record as saying the best way for people to view his work is just to step in off the street, land in their seat, and start to tumble down the rabbit hole. And what deep, convoluted rabbit hole Theatre of Dreams (or should I say Nightmares?) presents! Hofesh Shechter's most intricate work to date is an intense exploration of the subconscious, structured as a series of fragmentary images in a now-you-see-it, now-you-don't format."

"The Israeli-born choreographer, a long-term UK resident, has form when it comes to aggressive, impactful stage works performed to his own signature loud, thumping musical compositions that harness more than just a little of the rock 'n roll sound. He is the man who adapted his greatest hit, Political Mother, into a youth-oriented gig performed at the O2 Academy in Brixton, and whose prolific, multi-award-winning international output includes works entitled Double Murder and Barbarians."

"It's built around a series of curtains that hang behind the theatre's front curtain, which slide open and shut, creating brief windows where the 12 dancers of the Hofesh Shechter Company enact a variety of fleeting nightmarish visions. Tom Visser's magisterial lighting in split-second coordination with the movement of curtains and dancers is crucial to the overall effect. He offers a dazzling variety of tonalities and atmospheres to colour both setting and bodies: now a smoky grey, then an intense dreamy blue."

Hofesh Shechter's Theatre of Dreams stages an intense exploration of the subconscious through fragmentary, nightmarish images. Twelve dancers perform fleeting visions behind a sequence of sliding curtains that open and close to create brief windows. The choreography pairs aggressive, impactful movement with Shechter's own loud, thumping music that draws on rock 'n' roll. Tom Visser's split-second lighting coordinates with curtain and dancer movement to shape atmospheres, shifting from smoky grey to intense dreamy blue and occasional pools of red. The work premiered in Paris and returned to Sadler's Wells, following Shechter's prolific output including Political Mother, Double Murder and Barbarians.

Read at www.london-unattached.com