After the stage show by Susanna Amato
The Infinite
Shelf
A place for the things we keep for the memories — the objects, the stories, the weight of what we cannot let go. Add your own, and decide: do you keep it, or shred it?
It all began when…
A breakdown, a lockdown, and a house full of boxes
Like so many of us during lockdown, Susanna spent too much time by herself — and ended up face to face with years of hoarded things she never looked at, but knew by heart.
“Hoarding usually begins at a young age… and increases after a trauma. When Susanna's Dad and Sister died, eighteen months apart, the hoarding grew to astronomical levels.”
Landfill of Memories is an autobiographical performance about hoarding and our relationship to trauma, grief and death. Expect storytelling, spontaneous shredding, and letting go.
Read the full storyThree memories
Bring three things to the shelf
In each episode of the podcast, Susanna asks guests to bring three significant memories. You're invited to do the same.
A childhood memory
The first item is from a childhood memory — something that roots you to where you began.
An item from a tough time
The second is an item from a tough time — something carried through difficulty.
A memory to cherish forever
The last is a memory you'll cherish forever — something you never want to lose.
The ritual
Keep it, or shred it
After each memory is shared, a choice is made. Keep it on the shelf — or shred it into pieces, and let it go. Once the material is gone, the show can never be seen again.
Keep
It stays. The memory is held, witnessed, and shelved.
Shred
Let it go. The object dissolves — the memory of it remains.
Ian Porter's methodology
See the person, not the hoard
This shelf follows psychologist Ian Porter's compassionate approach — personalise, don't pathologise; ask 'what happened to you?'; work at the person's pace.
Explore the methodology“The most important thing about hoarding… see the person, not the hoard.”
— Ian Porter
From the stage
