Review by Jo Tomalin
For All Events
The Nature of Forgetting
What does a piece of clothing mean to a person? Is it the color or comfort it gives – or something else? Memories are special to all of us and dementia means that they may become fragments of what they were originally.
We first see coat racks, tables and chairs, and a young woman and a man, Isabella and Tom. They interact and eventually Tom – sensitively played by Theatre Re Founder and Artistic Director Guillaume Pigé – remembers what to do as he puts on a coat or a jacket…flashbacks tell the story. Tom’s memories are vivid as he goes back in time to school days, friends and teenage romance – all brought to life by the dynamic cast of four actors who play all the characters.
Live music onstage comprising a drummer and keyboardist play vibrant to melodic music that underscores and adds dimension to this mainly wordless devised play. Gentle yet vivid music plays while Tom remembers earlier times in his life and varying volume, tempo and rhythms support the storytelling well. This early scene is beautifully created and is the foundation for the story of The Nature of Forgetting.
Seamless transitions and the quality of the physical and visual storytelling form an exceptionally well crafted and performed show.
A scene of Tom with his mother helping him get ready for school and the subsequent journey supported by rhythmic music is strong imagery. The cast of four actors create several characters with gestures and posture changes to delineate them through their movement dynamics effectively.
When things go off kilter the very smart choices of a combination of awkward movement with sound, that build progressively, show how Tom’s memory is being affected. This series of episodic movement is subtle yet arresting in its simplicity and poignancy. A tender and lively scene with an outstanding movement sequence is when Tom is younger and is swept off his feet by a woman – it’s a glorious and evocative moment of a full life experiencing all that life offers.
Lighting helps to suggest atmosphere and mood really well and brief sound effects evoke the time and place. Tom incorporates interesting quirky movement and gesture as an adult and stops and starts as the movement device affecting his memory seems to disconnect it and be frustrating to Tom. This scene is particularly moving and well crafted.
Theatre Re take their time to tell this story and the cast emote physically and emotionally with expressive and precise movement and gestures. The range of emotional moments come from unexpected moments from Theatre Re – when less accomplished work will use literal thinking on which to base gestures. This play is extraordinarily well developed and performed and is a masterclass of story crafting and refinement. Poignant, moving and wildly inventive devised theatre that is dramatic, emotive artistic and human. This heartfelt exploration of a difficult subject has it all. Exceptional! 5 Stars!
More Information:
https://www.theatrere.co.uk/
Originally from England Jo Tomalin is currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she is a reviewer for Dance & Theatre at www.ForAllEvents.com and works in the performing arts as a freelance movement specialist, director + actor. She is also a Professor of theatre performance in the School of Theatre & Dance at San Francisco State University, teaching Movement and Voice for actors, Storytelling and Acting.
Jo Tomalin studied Classical Ballet for 12 years. She graduated from London University’s Laban Centre teaching credential program in Modern Dance, Art of Movement & Choreography, then she trained in Physical Theatre, Masks, and Devised theatre at the renowned professional acting school “Ecole Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq” Paris, France. Jo studied Classical Acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), London; and holds an A.T.C.L. in Voice and Acting from Trinity College of Dramatic Art, London, and a PH.D. in Education from Capella University, MN, USA.
