M-Othering, the latest work from acclaimed dance artist Chess Dillon-Reams, premieres at The Old Market in Brighton as part of the Reigning Women festival. This new physical, comedic dance piece features an intergenerational cast of women and girls aged 7 to 77, celebrating the many ways women care for one another and the beauty of cross-generational relationships.
Drawing on real experiences and relationships, M-Othering explores the universal need for care, tenderness, and the often-unsung emotional work of women. The production promises to offer audiences a moving and relatable exploration of motherly love in its many forms, told through dance and humour.
M-Othering runs at The Old Market, Brighton, on 30–31 May 2025. For tickets and more information, visit theoldmarket.com.
You’re bringing M-Othering to The Old Market in Brighton – what can you tell us about the show?
M-Othering is a fiercely physical, moving and comedic live dance-theatre show which celebrates the many other motherly relationships that exist. Older siblings, teachers, female friendships, god-mothers; M-Othering draws from these real relationships and explores the soft drifts or dramatic shifts from being m-othered to becoming m-other, as well as the quieter yet momentous joy of learning how to mother ourselves. The show is about love, loss and the joy of finding a sense of community and self through movement.
M-Othering features an intergenerational cast of women and girls aged 7 to 77. What inspired you to bring together such a wide age range for this piece?
As an older sister to two brothers, ‘othering’ is something I have been doing from a very young age. Now, as a teacher, a god-mother, an aunty; I am aware of the many forms that this takes and it felt important to capture this on stage.
I was also determined to blend the magic of the workshops that I lead with the process and performance itself. I get the pleasure of working with young people and witnessing the transformative effects of dance/creativity on their confidence and sense of selves, and feeling deeply nourished by the playfulness and wisdom of over 50s groups.
There is so much to gain for immersing ourselves with different ages. Dancing with intergenerational groups is life affirming, invigorating and magic. Historically we were connected intergenerationally but our society is becoming more disconnected. Dance has such a powerful way of providing access to intergenerational connections and this is something the audience gets to revel in too.
There are still stereotypes/expectations placed on young people/older people within the dance world and within society and yet working with these ages form some of my life’s richest experiences. We rarely get to see different ages in professional work, and it feels very important to challenge this.
The show explores themes of care, tenderness, and the many forms of motherly love. How did your own experiences shape the creation of M-Othering?
All of the relationships on stage are real and have fed into the creative process. A previous dance student of mine; Milly, my closest friend; Martha, who I have danced through life with; my incredible god-daughter, Mabel amongst others. It felt important to open a window to the beautiful nuances in these varying relationships and celebrate a motherly love in other forms.
My experiences of teaching have hugely shaped the creation. Getting the privilege of guiding/ nurturing young people and experiencing the depth of care I have for them, as well as reflecting on the sheer amount of work that goes into reading them and understanding them so that I can support each and every one as individuals. It is this kind of work, of teachers, mothers, others…etc that is under recognised and yet integral to the growth of all.
The women I work alongside have also shaped a lot, I see the work they do as teachers, mentors and mothers themselves and experience first hand all that they pour into one another too. I feel extraordinarily lucky to have these women in my life. Lisa, Helen and Lisa – to name just a few.
Teaching is not valued in terms of income, it’s the same for NHS workers, and carers – and yet these are some of the most important life changing roles. The emotional load of women is often unsung, underpaid, undervalued. There are expectations on women to be natural caregivers, it’s rewarding work but also takes time and zaps energy. With more recognition of this kind of work, more support and respect – it might stop so many women burning out or becoming unwell. M-Othering is a real heartfelt dedication to all teachers, carers, mothers, and others and true celebration of female relationships.
M-Othering blends physical comedy and dance. How do you use movement and humour to connect with your audience and communicate these universal themes?
I have always found that movement can say the unexplainable, it offers room for interpretation and for audiences to connect their own stories and experiences with the feelings and relationships being portrayed on stage. I am hugely inspired by music, there is great variety in the soundtrack and it’s the combination of music and dance that I believe really takes the audience somewhere. In terms of physical comedy – this is something I have always done to connect to people generally. I remember, despite being a shy child myself, clowning in front of classmates and getting so much pleasure from bringing those even more shy than me out of their shells by making them laugh.
I didn’t know what clowning was until someone mentioned it in a review of my previous work. I’ve never studied it, it’s just something I’ve always done. I connect to the audience through humour and letting them in on emotions but the audience connects to one another too. A room full of people laughing/crying collectively definitely connects us – we’ve shared something together. The preview performance ended with many of the audience descending onto the stage and hugging – I have never experienced this before in all my years of making, performing or watching work. There is text in the show too but not huge amounts of stillness – I move around to my heart’s content without a worry that someone is going to think ‘can you please sit still’!.
As your first independent creation after a successful career with The Hiccup Project, how has this process differed from your previous collaborative work?
I’ve taken more time with this creation and as a result I have a much better understanding of what I’m saying and why I’m saying it. For 5 years, seeds of ideas for this work sat with me, moved with me, moved through me, but in studio time, it’s been far shorter – just 3 weeks were spent creating with the core cast pre-preview and less than 3 weeks to develop ahead of premier performances at The Old Market. Rehearsals have been woven around all the teaching work, mothering, othering, schooling, training…etc of all cast members and this has meant I’ve had a lot of solo time in the studio.
Directing myself and relying on my imagination to feel the other cast members with me has transformed my practice. I talk out loud to myself and laugh when I fall over (which despite being a trained dancer – happens a lot!) It’s the first time I have worked with a community cast – who have made the process even more special. I was bowled over by the responses to the call-out, which confirmed again how much these kinds of experiences are not just needed but sought after too. There’s now a beautiful legacy to this process; a community of women & girls who have experience in the joy of moving together and have made intergenerational connections.
Developing the show post-preview – we’re all one year older, Olive is so much taller (!) Martha’s baby is now a toddler, there is so much change and life that has happened in between and yet our connections to each other and the work remain very strong.
There has been much more fluidity between each role I play in the process; directing, creating, performing, teaching and I feel it’s all much more intrinsically linked to life. Because I’m generally in a studio more often – I’ve been able to catch waves of inspiration at the end of a teaching day. Working independently has been a beautiful opportunity to connect to and trust my creative instincts. I feel like I am making something more ‘Chess’ than ever. That’s also down to the championing of the whole team; Lisa, Martha, Wins and the entire cast/community cast.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see M-Othering?
I’m sure it will be time well spent – in the company of some incredible women & girls, an opportunity to reflect on the beauty of platonic relationships in life and to be moved through movement. The sold-out audience of our preview performance and the 80 people that watched a rehearsal the day before all gave feedback and the commonality of this was the mention of the show’s emotional impact and laughing/crying simultaneously, the authenticity & honesty, the sense of connection felt – whether that was to the performers directly or to people in their own lives. What moved me the most reading/hearing the feedback was that many people said ‘thank you… thank you for making it, for sharing it.’ Hopefully it will mean something to whoever comes to see it too.
