FringeReview Scotland 2024
Dementia the musical
Deepness Dementia Media.
Genre: Musical Theatre
Venue: Cumbernauld Theatre at the Lanternhouse
Festival: FringeReview Scotland
Low Down
This has been written with the authenticity of somebody who suffers from dementia, and therefore has at its heart a very important message to give, but also one which is done in an effective manner. It has been well directed with theatricality at its heart with the use of other media to enhance the production’s message.
Review
Agnes Houston, Nancy Macadam and James MacKillop, may their names be writ large, or at least that is the intention of this particular production, as the three of them play central roles.
This is a story of them being taken to court by a “Rigid System” to account for their crimes. Their crimes are that as dementia activists they want, nay rightly demand, to be seen, as human beings, and thus to be treated normally, as any other human being. Their fight is to recalibrate our view of a condition filled with common misconceptions and prejudices.
Written by Ron Coleman, the Demented Poet who was diagnosed with dementia, it is something which has at its heart a topic, you felt, we all should do more to understand. it does not preach to converts, because you get the feeling that many were here, intrigued by the title itself – I know that I was. The idea of dementia being turned into a musical or an entertainment at all is something that many would feel was slightly inappropriate. This, of course, is not the case with Dementia the musical, as they manage to give the platform to the three dementia activists and allow them to make a very cognisant and very effective claim to being treated as human beings rather than as a condition, and therefore a “challenge”.
The one issue with this musical is the conceit of the allegory. As soon as you begin to fictionalise an obstructive court or something which demands authoritarianism as its method of delivery, you move from the feeling that what you’re seeing is something that is applicable to everyday life. the polemic becomes the story rather than the individual. We get the fight and the theory, and sometimes we want the story.
Having said that, Ron Coleman’s script, which has been developed with a large number of people supporting him along the way, including Michael Duke as the dramaturg, mentor Laura Eaton-Lewis, Colin and Jill Thompson, Mike Duke, Andrew Eaton-Ellis and Ian Bustard, which has allowed theatricality to be brought out: there are many gems within it.
It has been supported with Coleman’s home theatre, An Lanntair on the Isle of Skye which is another example of why it is so important and vital to have our regional theatres supporting new writing that demands our attention.
As a musical, of course, for many it will stand or fall on the quality of its songs. Here we have good enough examples of what might be called standard fare, that are familiar with a message that is not. That makes them more effective but also not as memorable as if they had more of a vitality and originality to them. kind of cadence and rhythm to them. My favourite, however was Nancy, How Does Your Garden Grow.
Ross Allen as James, Kirsty Malone as Agnes, Fiona Wood as Nancy and Pauline Lockhart on stage representing the Rigid System do a fantastic job of ensuring respect to the words and the experiences of the activists that they portray. Despite their youthfulness in comparison to those who may be assumed to suffer from dementia they manage to portray all three poignantly. They show the quirks and differences between them from a slightly quirky as a former social worker to an army nurse.
Special mention should go to Willie Gilder as the reporter who appears on screen occasionally to update everybody on the course of this particular fictional court case that these three are going through in Dundee.
This works, but what is missing is the actual activism itself which was a shame because that was what I was most interested in hearing.
It is directed with a lot of theatrical flair to allow the story and the effectiveness of the message to flow. The beginning, in particular, with the use of lighting, thanks to Colin Grenfell, and an overall sound design that works exceptionally well from Tom Lynn made the whole beginning really capture your attention. I might, however revisit the choreography which, at times is a little messy.
The set itself was well imagined in using those things we would assume would be in the typical hell of a care home. The high back chairs in particular were resonant.
Overall, this was a production that was enjoyable as it did not fall into forms of cliché and it certainly did not mine unfortunate humour in order to get its message across. It had a seriousness at its heart but the thing that I wanted to hear about, and wanted to know more about was just exactly what dementia activism looked like on the ground and whether or not me who has not been a dementia activist, but yet had lost his brother to dementia could do to support.
There’s a little of that lost, which is not a completely bad thing, because it adds to the debate, with me now sitting in front of something, looking for more information. And whilst I may have been disappointed that I didn’t get it by going to the theatre it does mean that it has prompted me to go and look for it elsewhere.
And that is perhaps the message, that what we should be doing, is listening, watching, understanding, and then we should be active. Or booking tickets for the sequel…
