Stage Plays by Ian Hornby

Remember Me
Play - single set - 3m 3f

Synopsis
On the day of friend Tony's funeral, Calvin is very bitter. He sees his own life with wife Lynn fading away with no meaning. The shallow life of two friends at the funeral only manages to sink him further into the depths, where he examines before our eyes why life is so meaningless. One of them reflects that he wants to be remembered after he dies, and Calvin points out that nobody is remembered for who they are, only what they did. Everyone remembers that Christopher Wren built St Paul's, but nobody knows what colour hair he had, or whether he wore a moustache.

When we're young, we look forward to things. When we're older we look back. Calvin realises he's missed the one time in his life when he wasn't looking forward or back, he was actually satisfied, and he missed it. Lynne and Calvin announce to their friends that their marriage is splitting because of an affair with Tony, the recently deceased. This intrigues their friends, but the revelation that it was Calvin who was having the affair and the knowledge that Tony died from AIDS, quickly breaks the final friendship apart, leading to a tragic conclusion. 

Ages flexible, but need to be compatible with relationships. Note that Peters could be played by a woman. With very minor changes, the part of David could easily be played by a disabled actor.

Author's notes
Remember Me was written at a very low point in my life. I sometimes tell people that a lot of Calvin's character is from within me, and occasionally they have made (incorrect) assumptions.

Nevertheless, Calvin is realising his own mortality following the death of his friend. He's angry about it, feeling his life has been futile and looking for someone to blame for it. There's no happy ending here. I formed the idea from the opinion that it could be argued trees, buildings and so on are somehow cleverer than we humans, because they'll be around long after we're dead and gone (and forgotten).

This is a good festival play, with a challenging role for Calvin and deliberately/maddeningly trivial roles for the others. I was extremely grateful to the magnificent Harlequin Players from Northwich when they gave such a powerful performance at the 2008 Hale and Altrincham Drama Festival - the only time I have ever seen this play performed. That they didn't win was a travesty.