a passionate reminder of the artistic and spiritual value of memorisation
‘By Heart’, devised and delivered by Tiago Rodrigues, is a piece of experimental theatre that invites 10 audience members to partake in a group challenge: to memorise Shakespeare’s Sonnet 30 (the one which begins ‘when to the sessions of sweet, silent thought/I summon up remembrance of things pas’t (I did that from memory 🙂 ).
It’s a cool premise: in a world where memorisation is haemorrhaging value, Rodrigues creates a space in which learning a Shakespearean Sonnet ‘by heart’ is the only requirement…if you want to leave, that is (the piece does become increasingly more hostage-like in its vibe).
Line by line, Rodrigues ushers his victims through Sonnet 30. But diversions are rife, often accompanied with things he has memorised, from George Steiner to Ray Bradbury. Of course, memorised lines is kind of what you’d expect when watching theatre. Not like this though, and when Rodrigus veers off course, the tangent aren’t narratively compelling enough to be justified.
If this were a workshop, and we were all participants, this would be an engaging exercise. Indeed, I followed along with the memorisation exercise. But once you do lock into the task, the slowness and dawdling energy becomes frustrating. As the piece develops, Rodigues – confusingly – becomes less bothered about the imperative to memorise all fourteen lines. Instead, his subjects have to learn the first four lines, then one line each. Given the whole show rides on the value of memorisation, it’s a bit of a let down not to actually prioritise this. Especially when the show ran over an extra fifteen minutes. To be honest, it doesn’t matter the quality of a show if you are not specific about its duration. I think you owe audience members a reliable time frame for your show, because threatening that ‘this will take as long as it takes’ contravenes the theatrical codes of politeness. And that not knowing can overshadow a show entirely.
Experimental theatre deserves respect and attention, and the ethos here is highly laudable. Memorisation is a skill and an artefact that ought to be celebrated. We’re drowning in our own brainrot, and memory games are helpful in resisting this. But ‘By Heart’ doesn’t know what to do with its audience, and that was jarring. Because, fundamentally, watching other people memorise things is not very entertaining. I appreciate the endeavour, but it needs some structural reconsiderations for it to be a workable premise. As a final comment, I want to stress that Rodrigues is characterful and charming; the current piece just isn’t sustainable in a theatrical environment. I genuinely applaud his passion and ambition, and I do hope he finds a way for this kind of work could flourish dramatically.
