New show, ‘Autobiographer’, to tour the UK and Ireland this autumn
2 September 2011
Autobiographer is about memory: the memory of a 76-year-old woman, Flora. Flora has a dementia, but the piece is not about dementia itself - rather, it is about how she recalls her full and long life as her memories unravel and become unreliable. Voiced by multiple performers, four actors play the role of Flora at different ages, creating a multilayered portrayal of her life.
With a lyrical text, immersive staging and an enigmatic and compelling performance style, Wilson uses space and sound to create a warm but disorientating experience that grips the audience in Flora's fractured memory.
The production marks the culmination of an extensive research and development period funded by an Arts Award from the Wellcome Trust. Wilson researched the subject of dementia with guidance from medical specialists and carers of people living with the disease. She spent time listening to and observing the Mental Health in Older Adults and Dementia team at The Croydon Memory Service and benefited greatly from the advice of the Alzheimer's Society.
The upcoming tour is funded by the Wellcome Trust and Arts Council England.
ABSOLUT Fringe 2011, Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin
9-11 September, 20.30
Matinee 10 and 11 September, 15.00
Tickets €15/€13/€12 | +353 1850 374 643
Box Office at Filmbase, Curved St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
The Albany, London
15-17 September, 19.30
Tickets £12 (£8) | 020 8692 4446
Drum, Plymouth
20-24 September, 19.45
Tickets £13 | 01752 267222
22 Sep performance includes a Q&A
ARC, Stockton-on-Tees
Thursday 29 September, 19.30
Friday 30 September, 14.30 and 19.30
Saturday 1 October, 14.30
Tickets £10 (£8) | 01642 525199
mac Birmingham
5-8 October, 20.00
Matinee Saturday 8 October, 15.00
Tickets £12 (£9) | 0121 446 3232
Image: Melanie Wilson. Credit: Miranda Podor, Getty Images.
