Aim

To Showcase our theatre company where all the cast bar1 has dementia/ cognitive impairment and deliver professional performances every time.

The Demented Poets Society Presents “We All Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest” A One Act Play 

Seven people with dementia have come together to create a funny, poignant and challenging narrative about the experience of living well with dementia. This narrative will then be woven into a script for a stage play written and then performed by this group. They will gather for a one week residential to reflect, refine then rehearse the finished play. The play will premiere on the Isle of Lewis and then go to the Edinburgh fringe festival in 2021. Since the whole project will be delivered by this group the concept, journey and outcome will change how people perceive those of us with lived experience since we are not expected to be capable of achieving such a project on our own.

Meet Dorry, One of our team of Actors, Her real name is Teresa, The name Dorry was bestowed on her by her grandchildren because of her memory loss. 

The play we will perform We all flew over the cuckoos nest is set in a respite facility where a group of people with dementia had come for a two week break but have been trapped there for 14 weeks due to Covid19 lockdown.  Along side Dorry (the Demented story teller) and Paul (the demented Musician) from the introduction You will meet Ron (the demented Poet) Silence is not Golden Here  Stuck In my Shielded Cage Words have no meaning here, Deep Inside my Shielded Rage  Tommy (the demented Comic) Francis (the Demented Artist) Martin (He who is yet to wake) and the Demented Activists not forgetting of course the villain Nursey Nurse (The one who must be obeyed) We will introduce you to all the cast over the lifetime of this campaign. Given that many of us were shielding some still are at the time of writing and the impact that Covid19 has had on the dementia community we decided To tell our story of struggle within a world that sees our illness instead of us, through the backdrop of the Covid19 Lockdown We hope that the play will challenge peoples perception of Dementia and start new conversations. Bringing our company to Edinburgh is also a challenge both logistically and Financially. for the seven of us to appear on stage means another seven people supporting the company all needing accommodation, feeding and to travel then we have to pay for venue We will be there in August 2021 help us get there thanking you in Advance  

This project successfully funded on 13th August 2020