The Nature of Forgetting
Hackney Empire
UK tour until 4th March 2027
Photo credit: Ellie Kurttz
{PR Gifted ticket}
Living under the impact of early onset dementia, Tom (Guillaume Pigé) prepares for his birthday with the help of his daughter, Sophie (Luna Tosin). In that brief moment as he attempts to put on his suit, he glimpses into broken pieces of memories stretching back decades, reliving the days of the past with moments of lucidness and energy.
Delivered without fitted microphones, there are very brief moments of spoken dialogues between characters. However, these are not meant to be conversations we could hear, they exist as inner conversations within Tom’s head and no one but himself is privy to that knowledge. From the audience’s view, these are muffled words, some you could just about make out and some lost among the percussions and music, recapitulating the interactions some may experience when engaged with someone suffering from dementia, particularly in the more advanced stages.
Without the use of any words, Pigé has conceived a remarkably emotive story through physical movements, telling the story of a man and the life he lived. Many will find familiarity in Tom’s story, blissful school days, outings with friends and playing pranks on each other, falling in love, the last-minute wedding panic when the best man misplaces the ring, and the loss of a loved one. These seemingly mundane and ordinary events are what makes this show special. The man before us, who struggles to recognise his own daughter and mistaken her for his late wife, was just like the rest of us.
Despite the vulnerability of this man, he also had a remarkable life. The choreography by Pigé and music composed by Alex Judd convey neither the feelings of sorrow nor pity. Instead, it is calm, with moments of ecstasy and it is full of life. Rather than seeing the man Tom is now, the show highlights the life he had. It wasn’t all good no, but for the majority of it, he was happy with friends and family.
Although The Nature of Forgetting tells the story of a man living with dementia, it looks past the disease itself and focuses on the main character as an individual, a person like you and I. He is not defined by his disease and we certainly can’t forget his stories.
Creatives
Conceiver and Director: Guillaume Pigé
Composer: Alex Judd
Lighting Design: Katherine Graham
Costume and Prop Design: Malik Ibheis
Dramaturg: A.C. Smith
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