A dancer walks slowly across the front of the stage. They wear square-patterned pyjamas. Curtains hang behind them. The dancer steps through. It feels like Alice entering Wonderland.
This is the opening of 'Theatre Of Dreams'. It is the latest work by choreographer Hofesh Shechter. Shechter is one of the most sought-after choreographers in the world. His previous Adelaide Festival appearance, 'Grand Finale' in 2019, left audiences stunned. His work blends fierce physical movement with music he often composes himself.
Here, he returns with a piece that plunges directly into the subconscious.
Twelve dancers move through a maze of curtains. These curtains never stay still. They open and close throughout the performance. They snap like camera shutters. Each reveal shows something completely new. A different formation. A different colour of light. A different emotion.
Lighting designer Tom Visser plays a crucial role in this illusion. Orange light becomes white. White becomes darkness. Darkness becomes blood red. Each change lands with cinematic precision.
It quickly becomes clear that this dance is not unfolding in ordinary time. It jumps. It leaps. It collapses into strange logic. One moment we see dancers moving like a violent mob. The next moment, the stage fills with sensuality and longing.
It feels like travelling through someone else’s dream.
The dancers of Hofesh Shechter Company are extraordinary. Alex Haskins, Robinson Cassarino, Tristan Carter, Frederic Despierre-Corporon, Cristel De Frankrijker, Rachel Fallon, Mickael Frappat, Justine Gouache, Zakarius Harry, Keanah Simin, Juliette Valerio and Chanel Vivent move with explosive power. Their bodies shift from animalistic to delicate in seconds.
At times, the choreography feels almost tribal. Feet pound the floor. Shoulders shake. Arms slash through the air. Then suddenly the movement softens. A dancer appears alone in a pool of light. The stage breathes again.
The music adds another layer of unpredictability. Shechter composed the score himself. It moves from heavy electronic pulses to delicate melodic fragments. Three live musicians, Norman Jankowski, Bartłomiej Janiak and James Keane, play on stage. They wear red suits and teleport across the set like wandering spirits.
Their instruments change constantly. One moment there is a haunting flute. The next moment a keytar appears. The sound world shifts as quickly as the choreography.
Set collaborator Niall Black keeps the stage deceptively simple. The curtains are everything. They open. They close. They transform the space. The effect is hypnotic.
At one point the house lights rise. The dancers spill into the audience. Suddenly the dream is not confined to the stage. We are inside it.
Then the lights fade again. The moment vanishes. Like waking from sleep. You wonder if it happened at all. Shechter’s work often carries political weight. Here, the focus feels more psychological. This piece explores fear. Desire. Shame. Fantasy. Those strange images that surface when the mind lets go.
There are moments of humour too. A dancer appears suddenly exposed. It is the classic nightmare of standing naked before an audience. Everyone recognises the feeling.
Costume designer Osnat Kelner keeps the wardrobe dreamlike. Pyjama fabrics appear alongside suits, hanging braces, sparkly nighties and bed socks. It reinforces the sense that we are drifting through private mental spaces.
This production feels almost engineered. The choreography, lighting and curtain movements land in perfect synchronisation. The work looks less like it was choreographed and more like it was storyboarded.
In the final moments, one last curtain emerges. A curtain no dancer has stepped behind.
How many layers exist within our minds?
How can we ever be certain what is real?
What is dream. What is memory. What is truth.
'Theatre Of Dreams' is pioneering work. Visually astonishing. Technically fearless. It won’t put you to sleep; it might just wake you.
★★★★★
