The team behind Imprints, now stopping off in London at Voila! Festival after a run in Edinburgh, tell us more about the show.
Writer-performers Sam Critchlow, Beckett Gray, Leela Gaunt and Elmira Oberholzer are collectively The Palimpsest Project.
“At a party in their hometown, Charlie is confronted by fragmented memories and a growing mystery: who is Max?
Inspired by lived experiences, Imprints explores underrepresented aspects of memory loss, queer identity and the fragile process of piecing together the past.
Through live-cinema, puppetry, and dreamlike soundscapes, the Palimpsest Project reconstruct memories in real-time to create a haunting, coming-of-age mystery about rediscovering self amid uncertainty.
It’s a story that is both personal and universal – a meditation on nostalgia, identity, and the delicate threads that shape who we are.”
Where: The Cockpit
When: 5-6 Nov
Ticket link: https://www.voilafestival.co.uk/events/imprints/
Tell me a bit about your show. Where did the idea come from?
Imprints explores memory, loss, and human connection through a mix of live cinema, puppetry, and physical theatre. The idea came from Beckett’s interest in memory loss in young people.
Combined with Beckett and Sam’s background in technical theatre, working with lighting, sound, and stagecraft, we were inspired to create a piece that integrates these elements into the storytelling.
Why should audiences choose your show? How would you sell it in one sentence.
This show is a unique fusion of puppetry and live cinema, using multimedia storytelling to explore memory and connection like never before.
What does being part of the Voila! Festival mean to you?
Being part of Voila! is exciting because it gives our international company the chance to share our work with a wider audience and connect with other innovative artists from around the world.
How did you make a start in the industry?
Our paths crossed through theatre education and university. Sam, Elmira, and Leela met at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris, and Sam and Beckett had met at university.
Beckett’s interest in memory loss sparked the project, and together with our technical theatre backgrounds, we developed Imprints as our first major collaboration.
What’s next for the show?
After coming straight from then Edinburgh Festival to Voila!, we’re hoping to take a short break and then restart activities after that.
Our plans include running workshops around the UK and exploring opportunities for touring, depending on what comes up!