The Loss of Small White Clouds: Dementia in Contemporary Performance

Description

This volume seeks to instigate a discussion about dementia in theatre. The discussions in this book borrow from the literature on dementia’s representation in other artforms, while reflecting on theatre’s unique capacity to incorporate multiple artforms in a live context (hypermediacy). The author examines constructions of diegesis and the use of various performance tools, including physical theatre, puppetry, and postdramatic performance. She discusses stage representations of interior experiences of dementia; selfhood in dementia; the demarcation of those with dementia from those without; endings, erasure, and the pursuit of catharsis; placelessness and disruptions of traditional dramatic constructions of time; and ultimately, performances creatively led by people with dementia. The book traces patterns of narrativisation on the stage—including common dramaturgical forms, settings, and character relationships—as well as examples that transcend mainstream representation. This book is important reading for theatre and performance students, scholars, and practitioners, as well as cultural studies writers engaged in research about narratives of dementia. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Contextualising dementia Dementia as a loss of self Dementia narratives in theatre The theatrical canon and dementia Contemporary performance Useful terminology The performances and discussions in this book Notes References Cited performances Part 1: "We're All in Our Own Little World": Inside Dementia Experiences 1. Dementia from the Inside: The Father and Autobiographer The Father and Autobiographer Time Place/space Character's relationships Two approaches to the interior experience Notes References Cited performances 2. Research-Based Performance: Inside Out of Mind Research-based performance about dementia Anne Basting, TimeSlips™, and Time Slips Research-based work deployed for education Verbatim theatre Inside Out of Mind In the world of healthcare workers Nursing (un)homely homes as narrative settings Demarcation In the world of people with dementia Inside Out of Mind's several objectives Notes References Cited performances 3. Social Narratives and the Family as Microcosm: Really Old, Like Forty Five The prevalence of the dementia family drama Really Old, Like Forty Five Political medicine Outsourcing care The family as microcosm The "brilliant sufferer" trope Generational discourse Endings: A failed deus ex machina Notes References Cited performances Part 1 Summary Reference Part 2: Active and Passive Embodiment 4. Transforming the Domestic Space: Sundowner and 1 Beach Road Dementia and embodiment Sundowner and 1 Beach Road Transforming the domestic space Peggy's dementia: Sundowning and embodied memories Embodied yet ephemeral Jane's dementia: Doctor's visits and erosion Natural disaster metaphor Embodied relationships Endings and the "right kind" of dementia story Notes References Cited performances 5. Puppetry and Dementia: It's Dark Outside and D-Generation: An Exaltation of Larks Introduction to dementia puppetry works It's Dark Outside: Visual theatre and another dementia metaphor D-Generation: Stories from dementia and co-presence Co-presence, embodiment, agency It's Dark Outside ending: The "right kind" of dementia story re-emerges Notes References Cited performances Part 2 Summary Part 3: Postdramatic Theatre: Radical Alternatives for Staging Dementia 6. Experiential Performance: Memory Point(s) Postdramatic performance and dementia Applied performance projects Memory Point(s) Development: Memory Point(s): The Beauty of Remembering The sequence of the work Time lost Experiential and dichotic Notes References Cited performances 7. Problematising Dementia: Sul Concetto di Volto nel Figlio di Dio Religious themes in performances about dementia Postdramatic work: Samantha Bews Dramatic theatre: Abi Morgan's 27 Sul Concetto di Volto nel Figlio di Dio Hyper-realism to iconographic metaphor A failed deus ex machina Notes References Cited performances 8. Dementia and Creative Agency: RUFF Conjuring co-stars and filling the "empty spaces" Placelessness: Nowhere and everywhere The irrupting real and reconfigured care dynamics Extratextual demarcation RUFF as pathographic performance Considerations for creative agency in dementia Notes References Cited performances Part 3 Summary References Conclusion: Dementia, the Theatre Ontology, and Opportunities The particularity of theatre (for representing dementia) Conclusions Recent developments Where to from here? References Cited performances Glossary Plain language chapter summaries Bibliography of works Index