ABSTRACT
Stijn Reijnders has argued that “memory seems to play an important part in the way in which places of the imagination are experienced”. This chapter builds on such a recognition by focusing on the “mnemonic imagination” within place-making practices. At the same time, this work responds to the question of whether it is “possible to be a fan of a destination”. Innovative work has begun to explore the participatory cultures that form around icons of architecture, and here I will focus on the National Theatre, London (the NT): an icon of “brutalist” architecture which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2013. Exploring fan audiences’ mnemonic imaginations via published and social media accounts, including live-tweeting and theatre blogs, as well as accounts of NT Live cinema screenings and the National’s brand-based “livecasting”, this chapter will address how fans of an iconic theatrical building/venue imaginatively traverse multiple productions and fan objects in their construction of repertoires of “theatre fandom”.
