In line with World Alzheimer’s Day, a theatre production exploring what happens when memories begin to fade is returning for a 10th anniversary tour.
Image: The Nature of Forgetting production set-ups taken at the the New Wolsey on the 24th of March in Ipswich
The Nature of Forgetting tells the story of Tom, a man living with early-onset dementia, as he prepares for his 55th birthday and is confronted by fragments of his past.
The production, which has no spoken dialogue, uses movement, music and visual storytelling to explore memory, relationships and loss.
First staged in 2017, the production has since been performed more than 200 times in 17 different countries.
It will open at Hackney Empire in October before touring the UK and travelling China. Further performances have been announced for spring 2027 at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, Leeds Playhouse and Storyhouse Chester.
The show, created by Theatre Re, was developed with neuroscience professor Kate Jeffery and the Alzheimer’s Society, with the latest UK tour being presented in partnership with Dementia UK.
Post-show discussions involving Admiral Nurses and local neuroscientists will take place at selected performances, focusing on early-onset dementia and memory loss.
Guillaume Pigé, founder and artist director of Theatre Re, said: ‘It is quite rare to be given the privilege of spending so much time with a single piece of work and to be able to come back to it again and again; to question it, challenge it and continue to enrich it through encounters with new performers, collaborators and audiences.’
Image: The Nature of Forgetting at the the New Wolsey Theatre
‘Over ten years with The Nature of Forgetting, we have learnt to be more precise, articulate and specific and in turn have become more confident in how movement, music and design can come together to tell stories,’ Pigé added. ‘Each new collaboration has challenged us to look again at what we do and why we do it, revealing new possibilities within the piece and within our practice.’
The anniversary of the tour comes as World Alzheimer’s Day is marked on Sunday 21 September. The event was founded by Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) and this year’s theme is ‘The Earlier You Know, The More You Can Do: A Dementia Diagnosis Matters.’
Details about how to get involved with raising awareness can be found here.
Images: EllieKurttz/The Nature of Forgetting
In related news:
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A story that began with three words is helping others find theirs
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