Poignant show in Bridgwater shines spotlight on dementia (From Bridgwater Mercury)

Poignant show in Bridgwater shines spotlight on dementia

10:27am Friday 1st March 2013 in What's On

THIS spring at Bridgwater Arts Centre, Full Beam Visual Theatre presents My Baby Just Cares For Me, an innovative stage production which tackles the sensitive subject of dementia.

Using puppets, Super 8 projection, upsidedown physicality and a rock n’ roll soundtrack, the play charts the erratic course of a daughter’s love for her father through thick and thin.

This sharp yet poignant show snatches warmth and humour from the jaws of the complexities surrounding our country’s ageing population, where pension plans and life plans don’t match up.

The Guardian says the performance is “full of music, movement, film, dexterous puppetry and gentle laughs.”

The creators of the show, Lizzie Philps and Rachel McNally, said through making the show they found out that many people had stories about caring for their families.

Director Lizzie said: “This show has been inspired by these stories and the feelings they evoke.

“We’re of a generation that can talk about sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll with our parents, yet it’s a challenge to talk about what happens as they get older.

“As a country whose 65-plus population now outnumbers its 16 and unders, with an average life expectancy of 82, this is a question which is increasingly urgent at a national and political level, but ultimately personal, unique and deeply emotional.”

The show is being staged on March 1-2 at 8pm and tickets cost £10-£12 on 01278-422700 or at www.bridgwaterartscentre.co.uk