Political Mother
Performed by Hofesh Shechter Company
Choreography and Music by Hofesh Shechter
Lighting Design by Lee Curran
Costume Design by Merle Hensen
Musical Collaborators Nell Catchpole, Yaron Engler
Percussion Arrangements by Hofesh Shechter, Yaron Engler
Additional Music by J.S.Bach, Cliff Martinez, Joni Mitchell, Giuseppe Verdi
Political Mother brims with Hofesh’s emotional and gritty complexity. Pulsating live music, extraordinary ensemble sequences, and cinematic editing make Political Mother a dance experience like no other.
Performed by 10 dancers, and accompanied by Hofesh’s cinematic score featuring a band of live drummers and electric guitarists.
Political Mother promises to draw audiences back to Hofesh’s world whose astonishing unisons, percussive grooves and raw, honest physicality mark him as one of the most exciting artists to emerge in recent years.
Political Mother premiered on 20 May 2010, at the Brighton Festival, UK.
Reviews
★★★★★ 'Political Mother is a marvel of son et lumière, as ambitious and as heads-down, hair-prickingly exhilarating as modern dance gets' - Mark Monahan, The Telegraph
★★★★ 'In terms of this single image Shechter dares us to rethink the history of the world.' - Judith Mackrell, The Guardian
'This is one angry piece, delivered like a roar of defiance in the face of an omnipotent, malevolent force. It’s visceral, painful and very, very exciting.' - Debra Craine, The Times
'the 65-minute vortex that is Political Mother left this critic shaking.' - Jenny Gilbert, The Independent
'a fine, excoriating work, fuelled by real anger.' - Luke Jennings, The Observer
Music
Track 1
Track 2
Track 3
Commissioners
Political Mother was produced by Hofesh Shechter Company and commissioned by Brighton Dome and Festival, Sadler’s Wells and Movimentos – Festwochen der Autostadt in Wolfsburg. The work was co‐commissioned by Biennale de la Danse de Lyon, Théâtre de la Ville, Romaeuropa and Mercat de Les Flors. Produced in collaboration with Theatre Royal, Plymouth and with support from DanceXchange, Birmingham.
The score for Political Mother was created in collaboration with the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and barbicanbite09, with research supported by Jerwood Studio at Sadler’s Wells. Collaboration with FOS supported by Outset.