Hofesh Shechter Company announces three new productions in a Season of bold, eclectic and thrilling dance.
A major new work THEATRE OF DREAMS will open in Paris ahead of a UK premiere at Sadler’s Wells as part of an international tour which includes Brighton Festival in 2025
Shechter II perform the UK premiere of FROM ENGLAND WITH LOVE at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall
OEDIPUS, co-directed by Matthew Warchus and Hofesh Shechter with choreography and music by Hofesh Shechter, to open at The Old Vic in January 2025.
THEATRE OF DREAMS
This new full-length evening will showcase the physicality and complexity of Hofesh Shechter’s choreography and his inimitable dancers, as they take the audience on a wild headfirst dive into the theatre of dreams.
The production will open in Paris at Théâtre de la Ville ahead of a UK premiere at Sadler’s Wells in Autumn, followed by an extensive international tour which includes the Netherlands, Italy, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria and Germany. In Spring 2025, Theatre of Dreams will return to the UK to perform as part of the prestigious Brighton Festival.
Through Hofesh’s ever-unfolding choreography, this new work will delve deep into the world of fantasy and the subconscious, revealing fears, hopes, desires and a myriad of emotions that penetrates not only the dreaming mind but also our waking thoughts.
The dancers’ bodies will bring to life on stage this interplay between poetry and reality, accompanied by live musicians and Shechter’s trademark cinematic composition. Hofesh will reunite with creative collaborators from previous productions: Tom Visser for lighting design (Grand Finale, The Fix, Contemporary Dance 2:0, Wild Poetry and From England with Love) and Osnat Kelner for costumes (Contemporary Dance 2:0 and Wild Poetry).
Commissioned by Théâtre de la Ville, Paris. Co-commissioned by Sadler’s Wells, Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Seongnam Arts Center/Seongnam Cultural Foundation, Danse Danse Montréal, MC2 : Maison de la Culture de Grenoble – Scène nationale, Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen, Central – La Louvière, Théâtre Sénart – Scène Nationale, Torinodanza Festival / Teatro Stabile di Torino – Teatro Nazionale, Festspielhaus St. Pölten (AT), La Comédie de Clermont-Ferrand scène nationale, Maison de la danse, Lyon – Pôle européen de création, Les Gémeaux – Scène Nationale de Sceaux, Château Rouge, scène conventionnée – Annemasse, Châteauvallon-Liberté, scène nationale, Le Carré Sainte-Maxime with support from Theater Rotterdam, Les Salins – Scène Nationale de Martigues, Marche Teatro / Inteatro Festival and La Briqueterie CDCN du Val-de -Marne.
Individual Commissioner: Georgia Rosengarten
FROM ENGLAND WITH LOVE
The award-winning and prestigious young company Shechter II perform From England with Love as part of an extensive international tour.
As previously announced, the production will open to press at the Southbank Centre’s, Queen Elizabeth Hall on THURSDAY 18 APRIL before performing at artsdepot, HOME (Manchester), Exeter Northcott Theatre, Derby Theatre, Blackpool Grand Theatre, DanceEast (Ipswich) and The Riley (Leeds), as well an extensive international tour, including performances at Theater Rotterdam (Netherlands), Grec Festival de Barcelona (Spain) and Théâtre de la Ville, Théâtre des Abbesses (Paris), with further performances throughout France, as well as in Spain and Germany.
From England with Love is a paean to the multi-layered complexity that is England. Through Shechter’s choreography, the dancers will evoke the paradox at the heart of this open, generous, and soul-searching land, conflicted by its dark history and powerful attachment to deep-rooted traditions. They draw us into their search for identity and self-knowledge as they grapple with this complex system of values.
Playful and poignant, full of pride and paradox, From England with Love is performed like a ‘Dear John’ letter, a farewell note to old England and a glimpse into the heart and soul of this beautiful, yet complicated place.
Performed to an original score composed by Shechter, this new piece will bring together the beauty, wit and invention of the best of English classical composers, presented in a clash with raging rock alongside echoes of choral song and electronics in an avant-garde cacophony.
OEDIPUS
‘Vengeance will be taken on the killer, then the land will be clean. The contamination will be washed away. The rains will come and the people will be healed.’
It’s a cold case but, according to the Oracle, if the murderer of old King Laius is found and punished then all will be well. The people turn to their new King, Oedipus, the man who solved the riddle of the Sphinx, to hunt down the perpetrator and bring salvation. He vows to succeed whatever the cost and so begins an unstoppable pursuit of the truth through a harrowing labyrinth of fear and love.
Academy Award winner Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody, No Time To Die) and Olivier Award winner Indira Varma (Present Laughter, Game of Thrones) star in Ella Hickson’s intimate and revelatory version of Sophocles’ transcendent tragedy, Oedipus, co-directed by Matthew Warchus and Hofesh Shechter.
