Past Half Remembered is a madcap journey through the epic sweep of twentieth century Russian history. The Reds and the Whites do battle, the Germans invade, tea is served from a samovar and there is a very big wedding. Actors change roles and get confused about which side they are on and someone gets an umbrella shoved up their nose.

Using a dizzying array of theatrical devices and a direct storytelling style NIE tell the story of Maria Michaliovna, at one moment an old lady sitting in her flat, in the next, a young girl dancing in the park. Maria's life spans the Soviet century in a remarkable tale of love, loss, calamity and hope. As she looks back on her life past and present blend and blur as she is swept along by the sheer force of history.