Mnemonic (play)
Mnemonic is a play created by the British theatre company Complicite. It uses several interrelated stories to explore the subject of memory.
| Mnemonic | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Complicite |
| Date premiered | July 1999, revived in revised versions, 2001 and 2002 |
| Place premiered | Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield (first version) Royal National Theatre, London (2001 revival) Bosnian National Theatre, Sarajevo (2002 revival) |
| Original language | English |
| Subject | Memory |
| Genre | Postmodern |
| Setting | Various locations across Europe |
Synopsis
Mnemonic begins with a lecture by the director, who encourages the audience to try to recall past memories. It then tells two parallel stories: in one, a man named Virgil tries to find his girlfriend, Alice, who has run away to Europe to hunt for her long-lost father; the other relates the discovery of Ötzi the Iceman, a 5,000-year-old mummified corpse. Through recurring images and situations the play draws parallels between these stories, focusing on the theme of the role of the imagination in recapturing the past.
Characters
- Simon/Virgil - starts off acting as the play's 'director' Simon but, from the eighth page onwards, plays as Virgil. Virgil is a British man who is at first trying to come to terms with his girlfriend, Alice, leaving him. He then ends up trying to find and reconcile with her.
- Alice - Virgil's girlfriend who has left him and is now travelling through Europe in an attempt to find her long-lost father.
- Spindler - based on real-life archaeologist Konrad Spindler,[1] this is the main professor conducting research into the recently discovered ice-man.
- Simonides - named after the creator of mnemonics, Simonides of Ceos,[2] he is a migrant taxi-driver who throughout the play talks about the never-ending economic migration in Europe.
- BBC Man - a BBC reporter that Alice meets on a train whilst travelling through Europe. He reveals to her that her father might have been a Jew and teaches her about the culture. It is implied that they have sex.
gollark: Not really. They're short-ranged.
gollark: Or AlTeRnAtE tHe CaSe.
gollark: Just Capitalize Every Word, It's Consistent And Easy.
gollark: "Behold, a being from planet Round."
gollark: At least we have a non-generic species name.
References
- "Mnemonic", in Complicite:Plays One (Methuen, 2003)
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