West Yorkshire Playhouse has launched a guide to staging dementia friendly performances, following its staging of the UK’s first “dementia friendly” show in 2014. The guide is based on experiences from dementia friendly performances staged at the theatre, Curve theatre and the Millennium Forum, aiming to increase access to theatre for those with dementia. This will be done by reconnecting them to their local cultural venues and their communities, in order to enhance lives.
The new show model builds on the experience gained through West Yorkshire Playhouse’s dementia friendly performance of ‘White Christmas’ in 2014, winning awards from both the Alzheimer’s Society and the National Dementia Care Awards. As a result of two further performances, the West Yorkshire Playhouse guide provides practical advice about which shows to adapt, how to adapt them, how to organise and think about the new audience, and what language to use when selling the shows.
West Yorkshire Playhouse has found that staging dementia friendly performances has meant the skills of its staff have been developed, local government interest has been encouraged and ultimately dementia friendly performances have become high-profile means of engaging potential funders due to this innovative idea. On the flip side the West Yorkshire Playhouse also acknowledges the potential costs of staging a show such as this, the extra hours needed for technical runs, and the cost of providing travel and refreshments for audiences.
The guide is a comprehensive resource, offering additional advice on plot, adaptations and, for example, softening audio and lighting cues to keep a show comfortable without compromising its artistic and technical integrity. Ultimately the guide aims to make theatres accessible in order to tackle issues for people living with dementia, providing enriching, meaningful experiences that reconnect people.
Dementia friendly performance
West Yorkshire Playhouse has launched a guide to staging dementia friendly performances, following its staging of the UK’s first “dementia friendly” show in 2014. The guide is based on experiences from dementia friendly performances staged at the theatre, Curve theatre and the Millennium Forum, aiming to increase access to theatre for those with dementia. This will be done by reconnecting them to their local cultural venues and their communities, in order to enhance lives.
The new show model builds on the experience gained through West Yorkshire Playhouse’s dementia friendly performance of ‘White Christmas’ in 2014, winning awards from both the Alzheimer’s Society and the National Dementia Care Awards. As a result of two further performances, the West Yorkshire Playhouse guide provides practical advice about which shows to adapt, how to adapt them, how to organise and think about the new audience, and what language to use when selling the shows.
West Yorkshire Playhouse has found that staging dementia friendly performances has meant the skills of its staff have been developed, local government interest has been encouraged and ultimately dementia friendly performances have become high-profile means of engaging potential funders due to this innovative idea. On the flip side the West Yorkshire Playhouse also acknowledges the potential costs of staging a show such as this, the extra hours needed for technical runs, and the cost of providing travel and refreshments for audiences.
The guide is a comprehensive resource, offering additional advice on plot, adaptations and, for example, softening audio and lighting cues to keep a show comfortable without compromising its artistic and technical integrity. Ultimately the guide aims to make theatres accessible in order to tackle issues for people living with dementia, providing enriching, meaningful experiences that reconnect people.