Memory loss nightmare

IMAGINE waking up and not knowing who you are. It happened to Englishman Douglas Bruce, although he didn't know that was his name when he opened his eyes on a New York subway train three years ago.

He was suffering from total amnesia, the last 35 years of his life erased from his memory. He didn't know where he was going or where he'd come from, and then realised to his horror that he didn't even know who he was.

Nurses put "unknown white male" on his hospital chart, providing the title for a film made by an old friend and director, Rupert Murray.

After his memory loss, Bruce, a successful stockbroker turned photographer, filmed everyone he met and everything he did in an effort to piece together his life and jog his memory. The documentary allowed us to join him on his voyage of self-discovery.

Just meeting his family required a major effort because they knew who he was but he had no idea about their identity. His father, he told us, wasn't at all what he expected. "Well, it's nice to meet you," Bruce told him.

He had to learn everything again. He had no idea what chocolate mousse tasted like or even if he could swim (he could, proved by jumping into the ocean).

The public may have thought they knew President John Fitzgerald Kennedy but as The Real JFK: Revealed showed, much happened in his life that was secret. Those were the days when a politician's private life remained that - private.

Kennedy had plenty to hide. He liked, as the narrator put it, "crazy sex" with a variety of women, including Marilyn Monroe and the mistress of the most powerful gangster in the US. It was a case of like father, like son. Joseph Kennedy Snr was a "rampant sexual animal" who encouraged his sons to follow in his example.

This was a story of party girls, threesomes, lesbian prostitutes and even a link with our very own Profumo affair. Some of JFK's women, like Monroe, though were more serious about their relationship than he was. In his mind, she was just another girl but she had visions of being the next First Lady. Sending brother Bobby to end the affair may have contributed to her depression and subsequent suicide (if indeed she killed herself).

By 1963 newspapers were becoming bolder, dropping hints about the President's dalliance with a woman with Communist Party connections. His assassination prevented further embarrassing revelations. As one observer noted: "What a tragedy he was assassinated but it sure took a lot of political heat away".

The Canterbury Tales,

Independent Ballet Wales,

Bishop Auckland Town Hall

I was as surprised as anyone to find myself spending an evening watching ballet. For someone whose experience of dance extends little further than the occasional viewing of Strictly Come Dancing, this was a hop, skip and a jump into the unknown.

I had no idea ballet could be so vulgar. As every English literature student will know, Geoffrey Chaucer's classic, which follows a group of medieval Christian pilgrims journeying to Canterbury Cathedral, touches on every sin their faith requires them to have sworn off.

How wonderfully this drunkenness and debauchery was translated into movement - fortunately, for one with such limited knowledge of the art, with a result strangely similar to dancing of other kinds to be found in Bishop Auckland late of an evening.

Seven of Chaucer's tales are included in this Independent Ballet Wales production, the pick of which is The Reeves Tale, in which a miller, his wife and two student lodgers repeatedly find themselves in the wrong beds, to much amusement, excitement and outrage.

Other tales can be more difficult to follow, making a programme a must, and the music is repetitive to a degree which can becoming frustrating. However, each of the eight dancers handles their moment in the limelight capably, and the use of very few props removes any distractions, allowing the audience to focus solely on their performances. A humorous and well-judged adaptation. A first visit but certainly not a last.

l Independent Ballet Wales are currently on tour, performing The Canterbury Tales and Giselle. For more details visit www.welshballet.co.uk

Mark Tallentire

Dick Whittington,

The Journal Tyne Theatre

IT'S always nice to visit this theatre, which though historic and ornate, seems somehow cosy and unimposing, and it was perfect for a panto. This year's show, by The Newcastle Pantomime Company, starred veteran duo Maxie and Mitch, otherwise known as Billy Mitchell and Maxie Peters; plus gangly actor turned comedian Brendan Healy.

The story started with a rat - the evil Queen Rat, to be precise - who got her share of noisy boos. We then met Dick, the svelte and sexy Stephanie Constable, whose trip to London got the action under way. Soon other characters came in: the pompous Alderman Fitzwarren, who sounded just like Jonathan Ross; Dick's faithful sidekick Tommy the Cat, the bold and brassy Sarah The Cook and Captain Scuttle, her seafaring sweetheart.

A touch of magic was introduced by Fairy Bowbells, beautifully played by Fay Maughan, and Catherine MacCabe as Alice Fitzwarren, with whom young Dick becomes besotted, provided further female charm.

The story flowed with ample pace, though I could have done with a bit less dialogue and more to look at in the first half. It had a definite Geordie slant, which given the setting, seemed fair enough, though I did wonder what the children made of some old-fashioned terms.

The dancing scenes were some of the best, and special mention must go to children from the theatre's stage school, who stole the show as baby rats. I also loved the monster scene - a real triumph of effects. In all, an entertaining night.

* Runs until December 30. Box office 0870-1451200.

Sarah Foster