Thrills of theatre delivered to hospital patients and care home residents

The show recently received funding through the Arts Council’s Artists Emergency Programme, set up to support the work of artists and performers whose income has been badly hit by the pandemic.

The Broads is a live 50 minute musical and theatre piece, telling the stories of starlets Marilyn Monroe, Bette Midler and Judy Garland but rather than taking place within the four walls of a theatre, the show has this week been touring care homes and hospital settings.

The show’s creator Maria Connolly said the idea to write a play specifically for people living in isolation originally came to her a few years ago.

She explained: “I remember watching a news programme about elderly people who are suffering desperately from isolation. These people can go for months without any human interaction and I wanted to do something to break that loneliness. It is incredible that I have received funding to do the show during this horrific pandemic.”

Rehearsals took place via zoom and with no conventional stage or set, hospital entrances, corridors and care homes have provided the backdrop and socially-distanced audiences for The Broads.

Maria said. “We’ve been absolutely overwhelmed by how well the play has been received. We’ve been touring hospitals this week as well as assisted living facilities in Belfast, Bangor, Dundonald and Carrickfergus.

“This is a time when the world desperately needs artists to bring hope.”