The Man Without A Past (2018)

"A simple story told beautifully...the characters live with you long after the lights come up" Exeunt Magazine

"Kaurismaki's mixture of absurdity and altruism feels even more nourishing in these troubled times." Ryan Gilbey, New Statesman

About the play

One minute you know who you are. The next minute your mind's a blank slate...

Featuring a soundtrack from songs of praise to sultry jazz, this part-melancholic love story, part-deliciously deadpan comedy takes you on one man's extraordinary journey from anonymity to unexpected salvation.

Cast and Creative Team

Writer: Aki Kaurismaki (adapted for stage by Jack McNamara)
Director: Jack McNamara
Designer: Amelia Jane Hankin
Lighting Designer: Zoe Spurr
Composer: James Atherton
Director: Beverley Norris-Edmunds
Cast: David Ahmad, Angela Bain, Victoria Brazier and Jamie de Courcey

Performances

Toured: 25 April – 19 May 2018

Banner image: David Ahmad and Angela Bain. © Robert Day Photography

Latest

Meet our New Associates for 2024/25

New Associates is a bespoke artist development programme for early-mid career artists. Find out who is part of our 2024/25 cohort here!
#NP50 Digital Postcard
Where I Belong - Text Versions
Celebrating 50 years of New Perspectives!

From October 2023 to October 2024 we will be celebrating our 50th anniversary with a series of series of rural tours, podcasts, special projects and more!

Model Village (2023)

Kicking off New Perspectives' 50th anniversary year, we invite you to the Model Village where model-makers Bob and Holly are joined by a radical urban artist to try and save the attraction.
We Need New Names (2023)

Co-produced by Fifth Word and New Perspectives in association with Brixton House, We Need New Names is a defiant coming-of-age story is full of exuberance, humour and humanity.
The Swearing Jar (2023)

Written by Kate Hewlett and presented by New Perspectives, The Swearing Jar is a truthful and heartfelt depiction of love and grief. Toured in Spring 2023.
The Great Almighty Gill (2022)

Join Daniel as family and friends, to experience the legendary life and times of Dave through a tour-de-force autobiographical performance
Maryland - A Script In-Hand Reading (2021)

This script in-hand reading of Olivier Award-winning playwright Lucy Kirkwood's timely and important play Maryland is New Perspectives' Artistic Director Angharad Jones' directing debut since joining NP.
House Mother Normal (2021)

Under the watchful eye of House Mother, eight residents of the strangest care home recall their pasts and narrate their terrifying present.
Stay Safe (2020)

Told entirely live through Whatsapp, Stay Safe was a bite-sized drama based on short story 'The Witch' by Shirley Jackson.
Love From Cleethorpes (2020)

Isla promised she would never write to David again. But 30 years is a long time to keep a promise... follow Isla and David's story in this drama told in six postcards.
The Spirit (2020)

The Spirit is a physical theatre piece split into three parts: The Camel, The Lion and The Child.
The Fishermen (2018 & 2019)

Based on the Man Booker Prize-shortlisted novel by one of Africa's major new voices, New Perspectives presents this powerful allegory of brotherhood, vengeance and fate in a new adaptation by award-winning playwright Gbolahan Obisesan.

Model Village (2023)

Kicking off New Perspectives' 50th anniversary year, we invite you to the Model Village where model-makers Bob and Holly are joined by a radical urban artist to try and save the attraction. Read more