Danny is a normal, routine-obsessed man whose life seems to tick all the right boxes without ruffling any feathers: something he considers to be an achievement.
He finds comfort in the bubble-like stability he has created for himself. He lives a clearly outlined life with little room for change – and he won’t change that for anything. But things do change one day when he randomly spots someone on his work commute who looks uncannily like someone from his past – someone he had completely, or almost, forgotten about. Until now.
This is the premise of Forget-Me-Not, a new Dù Theatre original devised piece, written and directed by Simone Spiteri.
The play asks what life would be like if humans could tap into every single memory stored in our brains at will. And given a choice, which specific memories would one personally choose to revisit again – and why?
Danny embarks on a whirlwind journey into his past – but the deeper he sinks into it, the more he starts losing touch with the present and the more he starts running the risk of having no future at all. This chance meeting sends him reeling down a dangerous path of memories, instability and addiction, and what he has suppressed for years comes back to hit him in full force, leaving him no choice but to face a dark period of his early life which he has, subconsciously, fought so hard to simultaneously overcome and forget throughout his adult life. But nothing is truly digested and overcome unless it is stared right in the face and confronted.
Does Danny have what it takes to deal with and, ultimately, let it go?
Forget-Me-Not kicks off a celebratory year for Dù Theatre as 2014 marks the 10th year anniversary since its inception by Spiteri. The play is a collaboration between resident Dù members Simone Spiteri and Magda van Kuilenberg, dancers Elise Ellul and Yosef Farrugia, musician Tim Ellis from local folk band Stalko (also Dù’s music director since its inception) and actor/musician Chris Galea.
The music is composed entirely from scratch, sampling sounds and voices of the musicians and performers themselves. These will be manipulated and played live by the composers during the performances.
The play runs at the MITP theatre in St Christopher Street, Valletta, on February 15,16 and 21-23 at 8pm.
The opening night will be followed by a small reception. Tickets may be bought from St James Cavalier on 2122 3200, boxoffice@sjcav.org or online from www.sjcav.org. For more information visit Dù Theatre’s Facebook page or follow their blog on http://dutheatre.wordpress.com/ .