A Musical Comedy About Dementia Coming To The Tabard Theatre
The Doodle Bugs will also perform in three local care homes
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Coinciding with their London run, Paradise Lodge’s dysfunctional ukulele musical duo ‘The
Doodlebugs’ will come to life this October as they perform in local nursing homes - Chiswick
Nursing Home (14 October), Hammersmith Dementia Day Centre (16 October) and Acton
Care Home (21 October). The show is the forthcoming production at The Tabard Theatre. from 11-24 October .
During their run at the Edinburgh Fringe the duo raised over £1,000 for Alzheimer Scotland; this charitable partnership was particularly fitting as the production is a musical comedy based on writer Steve Cooper’s experience of caring for his mother-in-law as she lived with dementia.
Residents at homes such as these wouldn’t normally get access to the vast array of shows on the London theatre landscape and it’s important to Cooper that he’s able to connect with local communities, particularly given the subject matter of Paradise Lodge. Singing in care homes is his way of giving something back.
This show aims to create an immediate connection with anyone who has had experience with dementia. Told in a series of touching flashbacks and some comic songs from the wartime era, Paradise Lodge transports Vi, Ronnie and the audience back to a time when they had all their lives in front of them – to when they thought they would live forever.
Trying to make sense of dementia and its impact on those affected, Paradise Lodge explores the
nature of identity, reality and loss, with a bit of Beyoncé’s Single Ladies thrown in for good
measure.
Steve comments, "The reactions from audiences young and old has been really touching. People
who were apprehensive that the show might be a difficult watch have said they took heart from
learning that they weren’t alone. Health professionals have said it could be used to train carers.
People with Alzheimer’s, dementia and their families have watched it together and each seems
to find something that speaks to them.
"When people come back the next night and bring others with them it shows that they feel ownership of the play. For me, that’s the highest praise.
"Whether people have personal experience of the condition or not, they all end up singing!
Paradise Lodge is a compassionate, unflinching look at old age, while in the context of a musical
comedy."
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September 27, 2019
