“The name of the company comes from the prefix ‘re’. It is the ‘re’ of re-discovering and re-imagining. For us it is not about inventing but about breathing new life into what is already there.”

Guillaume Pigé founded Theatre Re in 2009 while in training at the International School of Corporeal Mime in London. He was joined in 2011 by Katherine Graham, Malik Ibheis and Alex Judd and an international ensemble was formed, producing work that combines mime and theatre to examine fragile human conditions. Their last show, Blind Man’s Song, was a surprise (to me, anyway) entry in my top 10 of 2016, and they’re now looking ahead to the world premiere on 18th January of their latest project, The Nature of Forgetting.

Inspired by recent neurobiological research and interviews with people living with dementia, the show tells the story of Tom, as he’s re-awakened on his 55th birthday by the tangled threads of his disappearing memories.

“As a company we work very collaboratively, and for this project we started by doing things, by moving, by playing,” says Guillaume. “A few objects very rapidly became central to the piece, like the wooden school desks for instance. We also collaborated with UCL Neuroscience Professor Kate Jeffery and interviewed older people and people living with dementia. The point was not to collect their stories or what they remembered, but to explore how they remembered. This was fascinating. The main question that guided our exploration was: what is left when memory is gone? We could not put the answer into words…so we made a show about it.”

The collaboration with Professor Jeffery proved invaluable to the creation of the piece: “She not only helped us to understand memory mechanisms, but she also helped us to gain a better understanding of the information we were getting through our interviews,” explains Guillaume. “She was also in rehearsal with us to support our physical and visual dramaturgy. In fact, this collaboration went so well that we will be organising a seminar with Professor Jeffery at UCL about the science behind the making of the show ahead of our premiere, where we will discuss how the concepts of the neurobiology of memory has shaped the making of the work.”

One of the unique features of Theatre Re’s work is composer and musician Alex Judd’s live music, which has been part of the company’s previous shows Blind Man’s Song, The Little Soldiers and The Gambler. “Alex’s music for this show is absolutely gorgeous and all created live from more than ten instruments on stage! It has all been composed in the rehearsal room as the piece was being developed. The music and the sounds are totally integral to the performance. Also, for the first time, Alex is joined on stage by a percussionist, Keiran Pearson, who adds different timbres, colours, and textures to the score.”

The show was also inspired by the work of theatre director Tadeusz Kantor: “I was originally drawn to the work of Tadeusz Kantor because the world of childhood memories (long term memory) became very rapidly central to the development of The Nature of Forgetting. I was especially inspired by pieces such as The Dead Class and Wielopole.

“While watching those pieces, I was fascinated by the mysterious raw visual and physical poetry that was developed on stage. Especially the use of ‘poor objects’ and the work of the actors; stylized and yet so real.”

The show premieres next week as part of the London International Mime Festival. For those not sure if mime is for them, Guillaume shares what first attracted him to the art form: “Everything. Absolutely everything. The disciplines, the imagination, the technique, the freedom, the vocabulary, the figures, the pieces and the whole world around it…

“I would like the audience to come out of the theatre with both a smile on their face and a tear in their eye.”

Book now for Theatre Re’s The Nature of Forgetting at Shoreditch Town Hall from 18th-20th January.