Henry Simmons Videos : Dementia Diaries in Edinburgh

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Dementia Diaries in Edinburgh

On 4th and 5th April 2011, CCACE (www.ccace.ed.ac.uk) hosted a theatre production on Dementia which attracted over 200 members of the public, researchers and health practitioners. The production, titled Dementia Diaries, was followed by a panel discussion about the piece and dementia in general. Told through the interweaving monologues of an Anglo-Polish family and their Polish carer, Dementia Diaries explores the troubled relationships within a family struggling to cope with dementia. Developed with input from clinicians and nurses based at the Memory Assessment and Research Centre (MARC) at Moorgreen Hospital, Southampton, as part of an LLL Productions (www.leweslivelit.co.uk) residency at The Nuffield Theatre. Dementia Diaries tells the story of a Polish family affected by dementia, using five monologues; a mother and father with different types of dementia, the son and the daughter and the carer, each living with dementia and coping in their different ways. The production benefited from all the original cast, musicians and director Mark Hewitt. The writer also attended the performances and took part in the panel discussion along with CCACE member Dr Tom Russ and Henry Simmons, CEO of Alzheimer Scotland. One of the many highlights was hearing from a Polish Carer who could directly relate to the work, emphasising the impact of dementia on families as much as sufferers. CCACE were delighted to be able to work with a group of researchers from across the University to put ...

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