Mnemonic | |
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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 |
Mnemonic is a play created by the British theatre company Complicite. It uses several interrelated stories to explore the subject of memory.
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.