Don’t Leave Me Now was a play performed as part of a Dementia Information Day, which took place on Saturday 6th October at Shirehampton Methodist Church.
The play involved five actors performing the roles of two families, with each sat in chairs at the front of the church.
A member of the audience stated that “the play touched on every part of dementia”, from denial to early diagnosis, to care and death. Alongside that, various emotions such as fear, frustration, patience and love were also shown by both families.
The play was shown in a style as if it was on the radio, with two actor’s taking turns to introduce the space of each scene played.
45 people watched the play and afterwards there was an opportunity to ask questions to a panel made up of a solicitor, carer, doctor, diagnosed dementia suffer and actor from the play.
Members of the audience stated,
“I appreciated how the play tackled well the dilemma as to whether their loved ones get put into care or not”.
“The panel session was really moving but also really, really helpful. The Dr on the panel was wonderful and the man with dementia was so brave to tell how he really felt.”
“The play itself was thought-provoking, painful, with odd touches of humour, giving new insights into the sadness of the illness, and it encouraged folk to ‘open up’ during the Q&A session”.
For me, Tracy EB, the play was amazing. At stages tears rolled down my face, as it showed the various levels that families and the individuals with the disease potentially can go through. It was well worth going along on that Saturday.
The day also gave opportunities for those living in Shirehampton to think about what to do next… could it be a memory café? Or a singing for the brain group? We shall see.
This article was written by Tracy Edwards-Brown, Community Development Coordinator at LinkAge Network.