Hong Kong is the backdrop for Der Fensterputzer, the set consists of a twenty-foot-high hill of red silk flowers in one corner alluding to the city’s geography from the outset.

Pina Bausch integrates fragments of Hong Kong life – the mountain of red bauhinia flowers, the rope bridge, the karaoke, and the crowded people-and-bicycle-filled streets – whilst retaining well-known theatrical tropes: the vintage dresses, the stiletto heels, the obsessions with cleaning and sweeping. Her beautiful and sometimes disturbing images anticipate the horror or delight of recognising the self within its own dark world.

Premiere 12 February 1997 and performed at Sadler’s Wells as part of London 2012 Festival.

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