The Keys are in the Margarine: a verbatim play about dementia

The Keys Are In The Margarine: A Verbatim Play About Dementia

Project 2014-05-05 13:31:26 +1200

What do you get when you combine an actor, a doctor, and an Emmy award winning IT company?

 You get "The Keys are in the Margarine: a verbatim play about dementia".

General Practitioner Dr Susie Lawless and professional theatre maker Cindy Diver are bringing together the disparate perspectives of Science and Art to create a ground-breaking documentary play drawing on the experiences of New Zealanders living with dementia. We are seeking sponsorship to assist funding of the premier Dunedin season of this play in mid June 2014 in the Fortune Theatre Studio. 

Documentary or verbatim theatre is an art form that involves conducting filmed interviews with participants with various perspectives on a subject. These interviews are then edited into short clips and combined to create a story around the themes that emerge.

Working from filmed interviews, this unique form of verbatim theatre calls on the actors to learn as accurately as possible every verbal inflexion and intonation, every physical gesture and every facial expression from the original testimony. To achieve this the actors perform with an MP3 player in their pocket and an ear bud, delivering the original speech synchronously as they perform.

The Keys are in the Margarine has involved a unique collaboration between medicine, art and cutting edge technology. It will open in the Fortune Theatre Studio on June 19th and run for a 2 week season until June 29th.

Produced by Talking House Productions, The Keys are in the Margarine features the talents of:

Cindy Diver (researcher / editor / performer) Cindy is an actor with twenty years professional experience and was part of a group of theatre practitioners who developed a unique form of verbatim theatre with the ground breaking playGathered in Confidenceat Otago University in 2008, and then went on to tour nationally and internationally with Hush:  A Verbatim Play about Family Violence and Be\Longing a play about immigrants’ experiences of settling in Aotearoa/New Zealand). 

Susie Lawless (researcher / editor / producer) has been a General Practitioner for over 20 years. In that time she has looked after many patients and families experiencing the various stages of dementia, from initial diagnosis through to end stage illness. She has a particular interest in the psychological and relationship aspects of illness. She is also involved in teaching Medical Students and General Practitioners. Through her prior involvement with Hush she developed an interest in verbatim theatre and its power to inform and educate.

Simon O'Connor (dramaturg / performer) Simon was the dramaturg, researcher, co-deviser and performer for the verbatim theatre pieces Hush and Belonging. He has a special interest in theatre collaborations, including community theatre and devised theatre productions, and is a co-founder of Talking House (a community arts collective) and RBS Productions.

Stuart Young (editor / director) Stuare is Associate Professor at the Theatre Studies programme at the University of Otago.  An experienced director,  Stuart has also been involved in the creation of four verbatim plays: Gathered in Confidence, Hush, Be | Longing, and Passages; and directed the documentary play My Name is Rachel Corrie.

Core Cast and Crew

The core cast is drawn from the professional verbatim theatre performers and some professional new comers to the form including Hilary Norris, Julie Edwards, Fran Kewene, Ross Johnston, Clare Adams and Dougal Stevenston. Martyn Roberts - Designer, and Clementine Flatleym - SM, Audrey Morgan and Nick Gelling - Stage Manager and tech's for this project.

Kaitiaki/Advisory Group

To assist us in the development of this project, and as part of Ethics Approval process, we have a talented group of professionals who have been providing support and guidance. They includeSimon O’Connor and Stuart Young (theatre specialists) an also; Richard Egan (health promoter, spirituality researcher with University of Otago), Frances Diver (Maori liaison), Alison Douglass (barrister specialising in health and disability law), and Dr Phil White (ethics advocacy for vulnerable patients specialist).

Wayne Nicholson - KiwiTubs - Southern Neurology Ltd

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