NEWS: The Nature of Forgetting @ Northern Stage

Image by National Taichung Theatre

Remember when you were a kid tidying your room, and it would take you three times as long to do anything because you’d spend most of the time faffing about with forgotten trinkets and toys? Memory is a powerful thing, and it’s easy to get lost in it. Perhaps that’s why dementia and other such diseases which cause cognitive impairment terrify us so, because who do we become without our memories?

The Nature of Forgetting has been exploring this very question since its inception way back in 2017. Now, after an extensive world tour across 15 counties, Theatre RE has brought their critically acclaimed show back to the UK, stopping off at Northern Stage on Friday 17^th and Saturday 18^th February, for a night you should never forget.

Its central figure, 55 year old Tom, has early onset dementia – and while preparing to celebrate his birthday, begins an exploration of his memories and sense of self as triggered by the fabrics and objects in his wardrobe. This non-verbal performance is perfectly orchestrated to muster emotion from the audience wherever it is staged, because these experiences are as universal as memory itself. Following its first performance at Northern Stage, a post-show discussion with Newcastle University’s Dr Meher Lad, a Clinical Research Fellow, and a nurse from Dementia UK will be held to explore the medical conditions which form the backbone of The Nature of Forgetting.

The Nature of Forgetting is at Northern Stage on Friday 17^th and Saturday 18^th February.