Dementia the Musical 2024
In 2024 I was honoured to be a part of the production team for Dementia the Musical. It was very special to be part of this production with large team of creatives working hard to create a brilliant production that toured Scotland in the autumn of 2024. My role included working with the composer to produce all the music that toured with the production. I also designed and produced all audio backgrounds and sound effects for the show.
Cast and Production Team
Cast
Ross Allan, Pauline Lockhart, Kirsty Malone, Fiona Wood and Willy Gilder as The Reporter
The Production Team
Ron Coleman – Writer
Magdalena Schamberger – Director
Sophie Bancroft – Composer / Musical Director
Karen Tennent – Set / Costume Design
Colin Grenfell – Lighting Design
Michael Duke – Dramaturg
Tom Lyne – Sound Design
Andrew Eaton-Lewis – Additional music
Kelman Greig-Kicks – Film / Videography
Suzie Normand – Production Manager
Gemma Greig-Kicks – Producer
Shirley Monteith – Marketing / PR
Images: Kelman Greig-Kicks @ NeonEight Ltd.
Reviews
Reviews
“A quietly tremendous celebration of activism…All elements are beautifully and forcefully co-ordinated by director Magdalena Schamberger… overwhelmingly moving.”
Joyce Mcmillan, The Scotsman – 4 stars
“Whilst the word inspiring can often be cliched and patronizing in discussions of illness and disability in theatre, there can be no doubt that the work done by Coleman and the paired direction of Magdalena Schamberger deserves to be described as inspiring in the best sense of the word!”
Corrblimey.uk – 4 stars
“Ron Coleman’s play, brought to life by director Magdalena Schamberger in a mix of agit-prop, Kafkaesque absurdism and a jazzy set of songs by Sophie Bancroft.”
Neil Cooper, The Herald – 4 stars
“…. perfectly paced and expertly executed.”
North West End UK – 4 stars
The Tour
Dementia the Musical’s Scottish Tour through Autumn 2024:
Saturday 12th October, Edinburgh, Capital Theatre, 2pm & 7.15pm
Wednesday 16th October, Stornoway, An Lanntair – 8.00pm Friday 18th October, Dundee, Dundee Rep, 7.30pm
Tuesday 22nd October, St. Andrews, The Byre Theatre, 7.00pm
Wednesday 23rd October, Aberdeen, The Lemon Tree, 7.30pm Friday 25th October, Shetland Isles, Mareel Arts Centre, 8pm Wednesday 30th October, Stirling, Macrobert Main House, 7.30pm Thursday 31st October, Cumbernauld, Lanterhouse, 7.30pm Sunday 3rd November, Banchory, The Barn Arts, 7.30pm Tuesday 5th November, Inverness, Eden Court, 7.00pm Thursday 7th November, Findhorn, Universal Hall, 7.30pm Saturday 9th November, Paisley, Arts Centre, 7.30pm
The Trailer
The story of Dementia the Musical
Dementia the Musical
(or The Ballad of the Dementia Activists)
“Agnes, James and Nancy are on trial for the crime of having dementia and not doing what they’re told. Can they beat the Rigid System and reclaim their lives and dignity?”
Dementia the Musical is based on the campaigning work of three of Scotland’s longest serving dementia activists James McKillop, Nancy McAdam & Agnes Houston and the fight they have led to ensure people with dementia have a voice in what happens in their lives.
The Musical is set in the not-too-distant future where the ‘British Bill of Rights’ has replaced the ‘European Convention on Human Rights’ and is being used by organisations and carehome owners to deny residents their rights to a family life by allowing the system to control what individuals with dementia can do, where they live, who can visit and when they can visit. The backdrop to the musical sees the three activists being brought to a care home in Dundee to face a tribunal that is accusing them of both not having capacity and of being troublemakers.
A work in progress showing was presented at An Lanntair, Isle of Lewis in March 2022 with the full production being developed in Spring 2024 followed by a Scottish tour in Autumn 2024.
This a funny, moving and important production. It tells the history of dementia activism and highlights the struggle to preserve human rights for people with dementia. Voices of real people with dementia shape its story.