Edinburgh Fringe 2025
The Nature of Forgetting
Theatre Re
Genre: Physical Theatre
Venue: The Pleasance
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Tom has got early onset dementia at the age of 55 and is about to celebrate his birthday. His daughter is trying to get him ready for the celebration but Tom’s mind is in the past not the present. Theatre Re creates an enthralling physical theatre interpretation of memory loss and dementia that illuminate hwhat happens when memory is gone and someone is forever grasping at something that is continually out of reach.
Review
For all that this show is titled The Nature of Forgetting and is about dementia, there is so much here about remembering. Memories abound of early life, of mid life and of where we are now – ultimately it’s what makes sense of and threads our lives together. What happens when that thread starts to unravel?
In Theatre Re’s The Nature of Forgetting, Tom is 55 and has early onset dementia. He sits on a chair to the side of the stage where his daughter comes in, reminds him that it’s his birthday today and that he must put his jacket on. While she’s there, he manages just about to hang on to that thread, but as soon as she leaves he’s rummaging through a clothes rail for a jacket, lost in time and memories.
Effectively there are two stages: the whole stage and a raised dais within it that acts as the receptacle of Tom’s mind. As he veers away from the present, he moves onto that dais and into the deep recesses of his memory, becoming quicker, more surefooted and able bodied, reliving his past.
Scenes are recreated of Tom’s early life – being tucked into bed by his mother, sitting behind school desks with the obligatory pushing and shoving, bicycle rides with friends, a blossoming romance and his wedding – memories of his life which remain but are fragmentary and interrupted. Racks of clothes at the sides of the stage are integral props to illustrate the identities we show to the world and then ultimately in a final flourish, identity dissolving.
It is a superbly choreographed piece with movement, sound and image, forming the basis of the show. Few words are spoken but the movement and visuals are enough to convey meaning and bypass language to reach straight to our emotional core. The four performers move fluidly round the stage, recreating not just memory but relationships and feelings through their movement. Everyday objects, the desks, tables and chairs, refuse to stay still, upending themselves and tipping away out of control as the edges of memories fade away tantalisingly out of Tom’s grasp.
This is a beautifully choreographed piece with superb performances by all the performers, Luna Tosin as Isabella/Sophie, Claudia Marciano as Emma/Mrs Denis, and Calum Littley as Mike, Tom’s closest friend. Guillaume Pigé as Tom is simply outstanding.
Much of the power is in the visual images that the performers create, tableaux frozen in space and time, that will linger in the mind long after the show. Theatre Re collaborated closely with the Alzheimers Society and neuroscientist, Kate Jeffrey to inform the show; according to their evidence our construction of memory starts with the visual with other aspects following on. This is used to great effect throughout the show with visual images predominating and words floating away frustratingly beyond Tom’s reach – perhaps most devastatingly in the moment where Tom gets up to give his wedding speech and is rooted to the spot as objects lurch away from him and the music screeches discordantly.
The music is intrinsic to the show with composer, Alex Judd, Nathan Gregory, and Henry Webster, playing an original score which closely mirrors and enhances the movement. Set design, costume and lighting are in perfect harmony in this devised show. All the elements of the show come together and the whole company deserve credit for a finely realised production.
