Swindon Theatres launches Memory Project.
Swindon Theatres is proud to announce the launch of a brand-new community initiative, the Memory Project. It’s sponsored by Arts Council England. The Memory Project will run alongside their popular Memory Cafe, Memory Cinema and Memory Sing sessions. They occur every month at both the Wyvern Theatre and Swindon Arts Centre.
The Memory Project will consist of a year of free, weekly drama workshops for people living with dementia. And also their core carer and local young artists using live music and storytelling.
Oli Webb, Creative Learning Manager and Chair of the Swindon Dementia Action Alliance said ‘We consulted with:
- 30 families with lived experience
- The Swindon Dementia Action Alliance, and other needs groups in Swindon.
With them we discussed the idea of creating a piece of theatre to use the real experiences of people in Swindon living with dementia. There’s lots of research around the use of art, music and dance being beneficial to those living with Dementia. But, it’s notable that there’s much less around drama and theatre. We hope this year of workshops will add to the evidence pool and help other groups create something new.’
About the sessions
The free sessions will use drama, clowning, storytelling, and verbatim exercises to explore the relationships between three key communities – people living with dementia, carers, and young artists. The young artists will work with people most likely to be much older than them. This will create intergenerational connections and help the project have relevance to all ages.
For more information or to get involved please contact Oli Webb – owebb@wyverntheatre.org.uk
