Reykjavic:Albany

Reykjavik, a play by Jonathon Young, opens at The Albany in Deptford this week. The play received rave reviews after its showing at the Edinburgh Festival last year and promises to be far removed from the traditional theatre experience.

The play is set in Iceland and explores a love affair, but the director explains that the real focus of the story is memory, how we remember the past and the things we tell ourselves to help us make sense of it. The play was created by theatre company Shams who worked with neuroscientist Dr Hugo Speers. When looking at the way memory is processed in our brains patterns prove to be very important and the collaboration with Speers has affected both the form and language used in the play.

Jonathan Young on Colaborating with Hugo Speers

In the show, the audience are made to wear white forensic suits and are guided around a specially designed textile set. Audience members are immersed in, and a part of, the performance and have their senses explored in ways that traditional theatre can struggle to do in the same way.

Jonathan Young explains what is in store for the audience

Reykjavik runs at the Albany in Deptford until Saturday and there are still a few tickets left for the Saturday performances. If you miss out, the show will return to London in August for a series of shows at The Roundhouse in Camden.