I’m on the last bus out of this life and I arrive at Camp Eternity. I can see over the fence surrounding the compound and everyone is dressed beautifully, radiates happiness, and most are dancing. It’s obviously a paradise. I pop out of the bus and lineup for admittance. I don’t know how I got this lucky, but I figure some of my files must have gotten trashed during a hard-drive crash. So be it—good times, I’m there! As I reach the gate, a handsome dude all dressed in white, flashes a baby-you’re-mine grin, and holds up his hand.
“Before you can pass through these gates to eternity, you must choose a single memory to retain—everything else will be erased forever. You have one hour to choose.”
WHOA. Tough assignment. What would YOU choose? What one memory would you cling to above all others? Other than the births of children or weddings days, which we'll say are givens.
This is the premise of 100 an imaginative, original play by Christopher Heimann, Neil Monaghan, and Diene Petterle, published by Nick Hern Books, a specialized UK company that publishes plays, screenplays, and theaterbooks. NHB is a great source for scripts of any number of fascinating productions should you be in the market.
100 and the company's subsequent presentation Food, about Frank Byrne, a top chef with only one ambition in life—to win the coveted third Michelin star for his restaurant, were performed by the imaginary body, an award-winning theater and film company. They “are interested in creating theatre and film with a focus on playful visual styles, often using magical realism to stretch the boundaries between reality and fiction.” Both of these plays have received special recognition and have been published by Nick Hern Books. You can learn more about the theater company and their interpretations at http://www.theimaginarybody.co.uk.
I’m fascinated by this premise and find it’s not easy to choose just one out of a lifetime of memories, but lots of fun to think about. I’d love to hear what YOUR response would be when you end up just this side of heaven??
--Rosemary Carstens
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