Nairn Little Theatre turns into memory hub with new experimental theatre display The Fantastic Life of Minnie Rubinski
The sometimes thin line between fact and imagination was at the heart of a theatrical blend of puppetry and cinema which came to Nairn’s Little Theatre last week.
Created by Nairn-born Symon Macintyre and his partner Kim Bergsagel, The Fantastic Life of Minnie Rubinski is an immersive show that takes the audience inside the head of an 80-year old living with dementia and looking back at her life.
The scene is set with a giant brain at the centre of the room, from which a number of small TV screens show Minnie’s memories through a series of short films showcasing the marionette skills of the team at Symon’s and Kim’s theatre company, Vision Mechanics.
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Mr Macintyre said: “It’s always a pleasure to come back to the Little Theatre.
“I was born and brought up here, and part of my heart lives in Nairn.
“The show has gone down really well with loads of people turning up, and it’s exciting to see there is a bit of a buzz about it.”
Of the show and how the audience experiences it he added: “It’s like a jigsaw puzzle.
“We created 11 memories, and your job is to explore these memories and slowly put them together - so when you finally get to the last one you go ‘wow, that’s incredible’.
“What I love about any production where the audience doesn’t just sit but is actively involved - these are the kinds of innovations in theatre that get people back in and excite people about going to theatre.”
The show was brought to Nairn in partnership with the Nairn Book and Arts Festival.
Festival assistant, Victoria Smithson, said: “Our artistic director Tanera has worked with Symon and Kim from Visual Mechanics in the past, they brought the giant sea goddess Storm to the festival a couple of years ago, and we are just delighted to help facilitate this run of Minnie Rubinski.
“It’s fantastic for us to help bring arts to the community outside the festival. We are here all year and it was lovely to see our festival goers at the Little Theatre this week.”
