Choreographer: Hofesh Shechter
Based on a piece called CAVE, which Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter produced for the Martha Graham Company, IN THE BRAIN is now in the hands of Shechter II, a team comprised of dancers aged 18-25. The 55-minute show features all the Shechter hallmarks – driving music, murky shadows and haze – but fans of the uncompromising choreographer may be wanting something a little different.
Despite seeming to start in the depths of the ocean, there is no narrative, apart from the compulsion to dance. Shechter’s sound design quickly shifts from underwater gurgles to his usual techno-trance sounds, and the tight and shimmering shoal of dancers begins to perform Shechter’s usual range of moves, the moves that have made him so famous. There’s the walk of the dead – zombified shuffles across the stage, each step hitting the beat of the music – and arms raised as if they are manically praying in a Pentecostal church. Occasionally, the dancers join hands, their arms aloft as if they are about to begin a folk dance.
Regular collaborator light designer Tom Visser throws the stage into darkness, so much that we only really see the faces of the eight dancers at the curtain call. As usual – although not quite so often – Visser turns off the lights completely while the dancers reconfigure on stage. One of these blackouts seems ponderously long. But finally, the dancers appear, hands linked in a chain.
Designer Osnat Kelner has seven of the dancers dressed in a modern Medieval style: burgundy breeches, white frilly shirts. But the eighth dancer wears a contemporary blue suit jacket with trousers to match. It’s an incongruous decision, and he ends up looking like a drunk office worker at a Christmas party while the other dancers look pleasingly atemporal.
All of the eight, however, are razor sharp in their movements, especially towards the end when the techno pulses harder, all their limbs working overtime in perfect synchronisation. At times, one dancer will break off to do some frantic shaking, although they work better as an ensemble. Indeed, it’s the speed of the dance that perhaps allows it to stand out from other Shechter pieces. With no humour – no mock executions as in Clowns – and with no sense of redemption as in post-Covid’s The Fix, IN THE BRAIN clearly showcases the talents of the young performers, but there is no heart here. It’s cold and austere. And disappointingly familiar.
Runs until 25 July 2026 and continues to tour
