A new play exploring how we create our own ‘truth’ from scraps of information.
Potential Difference have collaborated with papyrologists and neuroscientists to draw parallels between how we understand the ancient past from fragments of papyrus, and our own past from fragments of memory. Just half a scene and a handful of broken lines are all that survive of a revenge tragedy by Euripides. By diving into the blank spaces, Fragments creates an irreverent take on a lost myth, and highlights the fractured nature of memory.
In the backroom of a library archive, the show follows three papyrologists as they pore over some tattered fragments of papyrus, 2000 years old. Could they be the remnants of a lost masterpiece by Euripides?
The ancient text tells the story of Aeyptus, a boy determined to avenge his murdered father and brothers. But how can he succeed when almost all the script is missing? Piecing his story together will take you on a journey around the fragments in your own mind: memories, assumptions, things half-heard.
FRAGMENTS is an irreverent take on an ancient lost play: combining anarchic performance, lo-fi imagery, original music... and a whole lot of conjecture. Written by Laura Swift and Russell Bender and Directed by Russell Bender, the cast are to be confirmed.
Listings information
The Playground Theatre, 8 Latimer Industrial Estate, Latimer Rd, London W10 6RQ
14 April – 6 May - TICKETS
The Old Fire Station, 40 George Street, Oxford, OX1 2AQ
12 – 13 May - TICKETS
Running Time: 80 mins (no interval) | Suitable for ages 12+
Further Information: Potential Difference