Mnemonic (play)

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

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

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.

References

• "Mnemonic", in Complicite:Plays One (Methuen, 2003)