A show exploring dementia and a lifetime of memories – using no words and developed with experts in the field – has been announced on the Opera House’s programme.
A “breathtaking and explosive” show…
The Nature of Forgetting was first created in 2017 and uses “distinctive visual storytelling” and live music, according to the company behind it, Theatre Re.
The show portrays a man living with early-onset dementia who is transported through his memories as he approaches his 55th birthday.
Artistic director Guillaume Pigé said it was “quite rare to be given the privilege of spending so much time with a single piece of work, and to be able to come back to it again and again; to question it, challenge it and continue to enrich it through encounters with new performers, collaborators and audiences”.
The show has no spoken dialogue.
… that has touched audiences worldwide
After opening in London, the show has been performed in China and is now due to return to the UK, before travelling on to Korea and the US in the next two years.
After the show
On Tuesday 13 October, the show will be followed by a Q&A.
Around each performance, the company has found locally-based experts in neuroscience and dementia care, to join them on a panel after a show.
In Jersey, the panel is due to consist of Theatre Re artistic director Guillaume Pigé, Dr Sian Wareing-Jones, clinical lead and counsellor at Dementia Jersey and Dr Juan Melendez, associate specialist psychiatrist and clinical lead in the Memory Assessment Service.
Who’s involved?
The show was created by theatre company Theatre Re, who brought on board neuroscience professor Kate Jeffery and the Alzheimer’s Society, as well as Dementia UK.
Mr Pigé said: “Over ten years with The Nature of Forgetting, we have learnt to be more precise, articulate and specific, and in turn have become more confident in how movement, music and design can come together to tell stories.
“Each new collaboration has challenged us to look again at what we do and why we do it, revealing new possibilities within the piece and within our practice.”
Jersey dates
The Nature of Forgetting will be on at the Jersey Opera House from 13 to 15 October 2026, with a post-show panel Q&A on 13 October.
