There are seven actors - Cindy Diver, Clare Adams, Dougal Stevenson, Francis Kewene, Hilary Norris, Julie Edwards and Ross Johnston - and together they convey the impact of one of the most feared diseases of our time: Alzheimer's.
This is verbatim theatre, which means that they represent faithfully the words, intonation and gestures of Dunedin people whose lives have been affected by dementia. The real people who have allowed their experiences to be used in this way are partners, health professionals, specialised carers and a patient still well enough to be able to provide insight into what it's like to be afflicted, and to express hope of a cure.
Writers Cindy Diver and Susie Lawless have put the play together with skill, and it is sensitively directed by Stuart Young and Diver. Despite the absence of a plot and conventional acting techniques, it has dramatic impact because of its conviction and clarity, and there is no hint of the ghastliness of reality television.
Along with exhaustion and frustration, a strong sense of the loss experienced by sufferers and those who care for them pervades the play: loss of identity, of personality, of intimacy, of social life. Travel is a recurrent theme, as partners describe trips either ruined by sudden advances in the disease's progress, or long anticipated but never embarked on.
This is depressing stuff, but the play is not all sombre. It has its moments of humour, and there are strong elements of love and courage.
Created by some of the city's most experienced theatre professionals and supported by Alzheimer's Otago, The Keys are in the Margarine is both informative and deeply affecting. Thursday night's capacity audience was highly appreciative. The season runs until June 29.
The Keys are in the Margarine
Fortune Theatre Studio
Thursday, June 19
- Barbara Frame.
