New Swindon Theatres project for people living with dementia

A new community initiative has been announced by Swindon Theatres - the collective name for the Wyvern Theatre and Swindon Arts Centre.

Called the Memory Project and sponsored by Arts Council England, The Memory Project will run alongside the popular Memory Cafe, Memory Cinema, and Memory Sing sessions held every month at both venues.

The Memory Project will consist of a year of free weekly drama workshops for people living with dementia, 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: "After consultation with 30 families with lived experience, the Swindon Dementia Action Alliance, and other additional needs groups in Swindon, we discussed the idea of a creation of a piece of theatre to use the real experiences of people in Swindon living with dementia. 

"There is lots of research around the use of Art, Music, and Dance being beneficial to those living with Dementia, but significantly less around drama and theatre. 

"We hope this year of workshops will add to the evidence pool and help other groups create something new." 

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 be working with people potentially significantly older than them, creating intergenerational connections and helping the project have relevance to all ages. 

For more information or to get involved, people are welcome to contact Oli Webb at [email protected]