Powerful performance explores what lies beneath

THE highlight of this weekend in Derry will be Political Mother, a performance by the dance company of Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter.

The explosive, hard rock-scored show has been acclaimed since its first performance in 2010. Its theme, of humans under pressure from the external forces of politics and society, will probably not be lost on the local audience.

For Shechter, the piece is, like its name, all about juxtaposition. “I look for a title that gives the audience a hint of what’s to come on stage and I fell in love with the conflict of the name,” he says. “The two words seem as if they should not be in such proximity. You have something intimate and warm on one side, and on the other something public that can be very cold and harsh. I was curious about how politics somehow connects to our instinct for family and for tribe, and how politics might take advantage of those instinctive feelings.”