Theatre Re presents The Nature of Forgetting at Aberystwyth Arts Centre on Thursday and Friday, 22 and 23 February.
Following sold-out runs in London, New York, Edinburgh, Hong Kong, Seoul, Sao Paulo, Lima and across the US, Theatre Re’s The Nature of Forgetting is a powerful, explosive and joyous piece about what is left when memory and recollection are gone. It was part of British Council Edinburgh Showcase 2017.
Tom has just turned 55. As he dresses for his birthday party, tangled threads of disappearing memories spark him into life, unravelling as a tale of friendship, love and guilt.
This ambitious project with actors, mimes and musicians has been created in collaboration with UCL neuroscience professor Kate Jeffery and inspired by interviews and workshops with organisations such as the Alzheimer’s Society.
While the medium of performance may be an unusual resource for the transmission of science, it shines a light on issues around memory that offers a new perspective.
Director Guillaume Pigé said: “The Nature of Forgetting is not about dementia. It is about the fragility of life and that eternal ‘something’ we all share that is left when memory is gone. Our collaboration with Professor Kate Jeffery and our interviews with people living with dementia and their carers have resulted in a life-affirming journey into a weakening mind, where broken does not have to mean defeated.”
The development process for The Nature of Forgetting lasted for 16 months and was funded by Arts Council England. The piece is co-commissioned by the London International Mime Festival, The Point and South Hill Park.
Established as a professional ensemble in 2011, Theatre Re has garnered a national and international reputation for creating world class, deeply moving, and visually striking poetic theatre.
There will be three performances at Aberystwyth Arts Centre at 7.30pm on Thursday, 22 February, and a matinee at 2pm and an evening performance at 7.30pm on 23 February.
There will be a post-show talk on the Thursday by Charles Musselwhite, a professor of psychology at Aberystwyth University, and Dementia UK Admiral nurse Charlie Duhig.