Chess Dillon-Reams’ new physical, comedic dance piece, M-Othering, is set to play The Old Market in Brighton, 30 – 31 May 2025, as part of the venue’s annual Reigning Women festival.
Performed by an intergenerational cast of women and girls aged 7-77, including professional dancers, dancers in training, and members of the community, Dillon-Reams talks with us about how the show explores ‘the many other motherly relationships that exist’.
Q&A with Chess Dillon-Reams
What can you tell us about M-Othering?
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. Within the core cast there are 6 of us aged 7-77 and we are joined by a wonderful extended community cast also. The show is about love, loss, yearning and the joy of finding a sense of connection, community and self through movement.
- What was the original inspiration for the show?
There is so much that has inspired the show, but an original thread from the beginning was a desire to celebrate and bring light to other motherly relationships. There are many relationships that are hard to explain or convey because the title cannot possibly carry the weight of love or importance. I found this when really close, long standing friends had children. We do not have language for ‘My best friends’ baby’ and the summary of this feels removed from the enormity of love held for them and the importance of them in my life. The same for other platonic relationships; colleague/friend cannot possibly carry or convey the tenderness, nurturing, wisdom shared and the strength of the connection…titles don’t always equate to a sense of main character in someone’s life. There is so much societal value placed on blood relations and romantic relationships, and yet there are these other relationships, particularly in my experience between women and girls, that are nuanced and rich, full of so much tenderness, care, joy, humour, that reflect a feeling of being truly seen by someone. This is the case for many of my female friendships, those that I’ve grown up with and share much of life’s history with, but also relationships that span generations and come later in life. I also wanted to explore the need we all have for mothering, even (and especially!) those that mother and those that other, and where this comes from. Women are amazing at caring for each other and yet many of us have at some point struggled, or continue to struggle to do this for ourselves. My inspiration always comes from real relationships and social themes.
How does it feel to be taking the show to The Old Market’s Reigning Women festival with an intergenerational cast of women?
The Old Market is one of my favourite venues. An independent, local venue with an amazing team who are full of heart. Their recognition of the importance of sharing women’s stories and providing a platform for female artists is brilliant. And being a part of Reigning Women season, as the closing act of 2025, with a cast and team of incredibly inspiring women and girls, spanning 70 years, feels really special and exactly what this season is all about. My sister, Elle, is part of this year’s Reigning Women season too, with her solo show, HoneyBee – that feels pretty special too.
How important was it to work with people based within the local community?
I work a lot within the local community day to day; teaching adult movement classes, teaching young people, immersing myself within the dance community. I have regular access to the joy of community connection, especially in the context of dance. I am determined to share this joy with others, as well as provide opportunities for more people to participate in professional work, in creative process, in intergenerational dance contexts and experience the joy of performing on stage. For the past 4 years, I’ve supported the annual Let’s Dance event at Brighton Dome. Witnessing young people aged 4-18 work through the nerves to get out on stage and move their bodies is pure magic. It creates core memories, it bonds us, it’s such a rich cultural experience. Adults need these opportunities too, particularly those who give tirelessly to others. We all need experiences that feel perhaps, at first a little scary, but result in finding more within life/within ourselves and more shared experience. It’s also really important for me to work with people regardless of dance experience. I love watching humans move. It’s not just dance and choreography, it’s movement whilst being present with real authentic feeling, we don’t have to be trained dancers to do this. Movement and dance is primal, it’s celebratory and brings us together. Of course dance training can provide more technique and movement vocabulary but we all have an innate ability to connect to authentic movement.
The energy of the entire cast really encapsulates my values, it’s real and human and their participation is meaningful in unique ways for each of them. Collectively it is a celebration of the joy of moving and connecting together. This process has been a beautiful reminder that we can still build villages and create community connections. I believe this can be achieved powerfully within dance contexts with thoughtful facilitation. I love that there may be someone in the audience who will watch a friend, neighbour, relative or someone they know from work. It gives familiarity and relatability to it all. And I hope that it will also inspire others to take part.
Is there anything you hope audiences take away from the show?
Within the feedback from the audience of the preview performance, there were lots of takeaways; moments of reflection, realisations – a sense of connection felt; to friends who mother, to personal relationships with mothering; both the act of and receiving of, space to reflect on other ways of experiencing motherhood. A couple of specific feedback quotes that reflect some of my continued hopes for this work; “emotional and comforting” – we can have an emotional response to something, to laugh and to cry but to also be comforted through that is important too. “I left feeling the opposite of lonely.” – again this comes back to a sense of connection. I hope the audience will gain a lot from witnessing other, real connections but I’m sure the specifics will differ person to person. I hope the show allows for those connecting with particular themes to come away feeling seen, and/or having gained an insight into yearning to become a mother, the outpouring of motherly love in unconventional ways. I also hope that audiences will take away permission or inspiration to move/dance some things out. Movement is an incredible way of processing things, a simple shake when we’re overwhelmed or anxious is so powerful. I’m sure audiences will be moved but I hope that they will be inspired to move themselves too.
M-Othering is at the Old Market in Brighton from 30 to 31 May 2025
