Hofesh Shechter on his "social experiment"

By Dena Jones

On October 25 and 26, Luxembourg was the venue for the European premiere of “Sun”, with choreography and music by talented young Israeli-born, UK resident Hofesh Shechter. Wort.lu spoke to him after the first performance, which has been co-commissioned by, amongst others, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg

Describing Sun as “unsettling” and “confusing”, it was clear he still viewed it as a work not yet settled into its final form. Whatever that may be. The extremely complex work offers many opportunities for the audience to engage, but the challenges presented in the piece may result more in the averting of eyes. 

Social experiment

Shechter understands this and uses the term “social experiment” about the piece. Who is pulling the strings? What is real, what is illusion, where does one end and the other start? Shechter opens the show with the attempt to reassure the audience that things will be OK in the end, but acknowledges during the interview that this is clearly not the case. His hope, however, is that this sense of unease challenges our own righteousness and shakes us out of it rather than leading us to the gloom of defeat.

The piece, he emphasises, does contain humour, which Shechter says was particularly picked up on by the Australian audiences during its premiere performances. We are also assured that no animals were harmed during the making of the show, although a few sheep may have been quite confused.

Grand Théâtre “technically perfect”

In a complex production such as this, it is clear that the very best facilities are essential and Shechter was very impressed by the quality of technical facilities available at the Grand Théâtre.

Describing the venue as “technically perfect”, he paid tribute to both the facilities and the staff and would clearly love to come back.

Long time residents of Luxembourg will not be surprised to hear this, confirmation that once again the country is punching above its tiny weight, this time in the artistic world as well as the more widely known financial sector. In this case it was thanks to the good eye of Tom Leick, the Production Manager of the Grand Théâtre, who spotted a previous production of Shechter’s in Paris and was material in the process which resulted in the European premiere.

As with all creative artists, this is not the only project that Shechter is currently working on. Based in London and Sadler’s Wells theatre (he is an Associate artist there), he has been nominated guest director of the Brighton Festival 2014, which has previously commissioned works from his company. He is also currently collaborating with the Metropolitan Opera, New York, having previously choreographed for the Royal Court and the National Theatre in the UK.

Sun had its world premiere in Melbourne earlier in October and goes on to the UK after Luxembourg. Following this it will tour major cities in Europe, from the Netherlands to Spain. Hofesh Shechter will be with his Company for most of this time, creating as he goes. We very much hope he will be back to Luxembourg, with or without the Sun.