Balancing Act and Buttercross Theatre Productions present a unique theatrical production that looks at Dementia and Alzheimer’s from the inside out, in a fascinating new play by the exciting local writer, Joe Graham.
“Whilst I do not attempt to understand the complexity of these diseases, I am driven by the fact that, although there are common recognisable symptoms, every experience of these terrible diseases is different,” says the writer.
“Apart from the physical problems and symptoms, the ‘monster’ within all forms of Dementia seems to find a way to mix and scramble conscious and unconscious thought. Some experiences seem to manifest like waking dreams. Our dreams, when explained, often make no sense to anyone else, or sometimes even to ourselves the next morning. What seems random and out of place day-to-day is commonplace in the dreams we create every night.
Imagine if it is not just our own memories and our fight to retain normal conscious thought that are mixed and scrambled, but also our own dreams. The ‘monster’ of Lewy Body Dementia and Alzheimer’s turns our own imagination against us. We are left living the dream, but not one of our own conscious or even unconscious creation.”
About Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia
Lewy body dementia, also known as dementia with Lewy bodies, is the second most common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer’s disease dementia. Protein deposits, called Lewy bodies, develop in nerve cells in the brain regions involved in thinking, memory, and movement, resulting in visual hallucinations and movement disorders such as slowed movement, rigid muscles, and tremors.
The symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are generally mild to start with, but they get worse over time and interfere with daily life. There are some common symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, but everyone is unique.
Memory for life events that happened a long time ago is often unaffected in the early stages of the disease, but this increasingly interferes with daily life as the condition progresses.
24-27 May, 7.30pm
Tickets: £15
