THE MEMORY OF LIGHT

The essential premise of the play, that Dionysus can save the world from actual destruction, through effecting a dramatic catharsis, is surely at least worth a try. Joyism as so conceived has a long intellectual heritage, going back into the mists of the ancient world. Certainly under Dionysus’ direction it emerged on the stage with the comic plays of antiquity, not least the work of Aristophanes, who in his Frogs has Dionysus journeying to the Underworld with Heracles in a classic supernatural comedy. The Memory of Light is neither comedy nor tragedy, but includes elements of both, as a classic tragic-comedy. It is also a deliberate homage to the Miracle plays of the Middle Ages, in which Creation, Redemption and the Last Judgement were performed in the cycles of York and Chester, and which saw the rebirth of theatre in Britain, after the long dark ages.