Nostalgia-filled Christmas show touring care homes across the province

Finally, back in-person and indoors, Commedia of Errors are once again bringing their Plays Aloud programme to vulnerable older people, sharing some Christmas craic with audiences across Northern Ireland.

A brand-new nostalgia filled Christmas show featuring classic tunes, comedy and more will be touring to care homes, nursing homes and dementia care units across the province this December.

Plays Aloud’s digital, and socially distanced ‘outdoors-in’ performances were in high demand all throughout the pandemic, but residents are delighted to be getting back to normal and to be able to welcome performers back into their living rooms.

This ambitious Christmas programme is principally funded by Arts Council Northern Ireland’s Arts and Older People Programme and Halifax Foundation NI, with support from Public Health, The Baring Foundation, and is made with partners Radius Housing.

Plays Aloud has been bringing their dementia specialist variety show into nursing homes, care homes, dementia units and folds since 2017.

Each performance is specially curated to invigorate and re-energise older audiences, improving mental health and slowing dementia related decline.

In 2020, the pandemic temporarily put a stop to the programme, but unperturbed, company founders Benjamin Gould and Clare McMahon (working with programme partners Radius Housing and Accidental Theatre) digitised, creating Plays Aloud At Home.

Through a combination of live streaming and bespoke made DVD recordings, the company broadcast their hit variety show six times to the televisions of over 1, 400 beneficiaries since June 2020. They received the Highly Commended by Arts & Business ‘Mental Health & Wellbeing Award’ 2021.

Finally, as the pandemic abates, they are returning to in-person performances for cherished older audiences.

Audiences of the programme are always positive: One care worker said: “They loved every minute of it.”

An audience member added: “Better than the BBC!”, while another cooed: “Don’t underestimate the value of this resource you have given us – Keep it up!”

The project has even been endorsed by singer Daniel O’Donnell who observed: ‘‘Plays Aloud At Home is engaging with the most vulnerable in our communities. It really is inspiring…long may it continue.’’

This Christmas the programme will feature two pairs of performers touring to the lounges of care facilities in every county of Northern Ireland.

Lorraine Calderwood, community arts development officer at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, explained how the Arts and Older People's Programme is making a difference to the lives of older people across the region: "Research has proven that taking part in arts activities can raise self-esteem, confidence and motivation, as well as aid in relieving stress. As we emerge from the extra challenges faced by older people as a result of the pandemic, participating in the arts is now more important than ever.

“The arts have a vital role to play in helping older people find their voice, thus promoting positive physical and mental health.”

Plays Aloud At Home is the brainchild of local theatre makers Clare McMahon and Benjamin Gould in partnership with Radius Housing.

McMahon and Gould also recently collaborated to bring McMahon’s play, ‘The Gap Year’, to sell-out audiences at the Lyric Theatre.

To find out more about Commedia of Errors click here.