A couple finds themselves in some kind of liminal space with no memory of their life in the real world and no idea how to get back. Even with no recollection of their history together, they still gravitate towards each other, falling in love all over again, frozen in time together.
Produced by Raiser Theatre and written and performed by Isla Hall, Forget-Me-Nots is a portrait of connection – with no distinct plot and no end in sight, like the couple, we are frozen in one moment, watching as the relationship unfolds and develops. At times the story felt a little cliché, although the dialogue and performance was believable. The two actors worked well together, creating an authentic and sweet, if quite sappy, relationship. Although Hall does refer to her partner as sappy quite often in the play so I suppose that she achieved her goal in that regard.
There was an effort to create symbolism with the costuming, with Hall being dressed in her character’s favourite colour red, and her partner in his favourite colour blue – maybe a little on the nose but I appreciated the thought. At the end of the play we discover this world they’ve been trapped in was all maladaptive daydreaming – Halls’ partner had died and this was her way of coping. When we learn this, Hall takes off her jumper revealing a blue top underneath – again there was something a little too obvious about this choice but it did the job.
My main grievance with this play was the lack of action – while it was nice to watch the couple’s love change and grow I think we needed something more to drive this play, to differentiate and vary the scenes from one another. Conceptually, it has a lot of potential, with the twist at the end adding interest, just for me personally I wanted something more to happen in the middle. For an early-career play, this is a good start and the idea has plenty of room to expand – it was still an enjoyable enough watch, but for me, needs some structural development.
Reviewer: Jessie Martin
Reviewed: 21st August 2025
North West End UK Rating:
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