Performance and Dementia A Cultural Response to Care

This book explores how theatre and performance can change the way we think about dementia and some of the environments in which dementia care takes place. Drawing on the author’s creative practice and other performance projects in the UK, it explores some of the challenges and opportunities of making performance in care homes. Rather than focusing on the transformative potential of the arts, it asks how artists can engage with the different types of relationships that exist in a care community. These include the relationships that residents and staff have with each other as well as relationships with care spaces. Exploring the intersection between participatory performance and the everyday creativity of a care home, it argues that the arts have a cultural role to play in supporting dementia care as a relational practice. Moreover, it celebrates the intrinsic creativity of caregiving and how principles and practices of care work can inform theatre and performance in diverse ways.

Nicky Hatton is a theatre practitioner and researcher who specialises in performance and health. Her current research explores care as a critical and creative concern in participatory performance. She has worked extensively in health and care settings and has over 12 years’ experience of leading community performance projects. She is a lecturer in Drama at York St John University, UK, and a fellow of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.