Dementia Action Week starts today, 20 May 2019 – and our annual Living Memory project is underway.
On Thursday 16 May 2019, four of our members paid a very special visit to the Wimbledon Guild as part of WCTT’s second annual Living Memory project.
The Act Two students, and a group of over 10 members from the Remember When community, met for the first time.
At this early stage of the project, our actors chat informally with members, asking them about their childhood and young adult lives. (They also took part in an exercise session with the group, which was lots of fun.)
The stories the Young Actors heard on Thursday were wonderful.
They included a treacherous walk through snow and ice, and across a river, to escape from Hungary to Austria after the Russian occupation in 1956.
One member was the daughter of a single parent family with five children; no-one went to school, but with help from the Guild, she’s now learning to read.
The actors also heard stories about the end of rationing, the birth of the teenager and fun nights out at the Hammersmith Palais. Plus, a Wimbledonian lady whose father was one of the youngest soldiers to fight in World War 1.
These inspirational life tales ignited the imaginations of the actors and helped to build bonds with the Remember When members.
Next week, a second visit will take place and the Young Actors will interview the members again to find out more details – and the twists and turns – of their stories.
Then, the real work begins: developing these stories into pieces of theatre that will be performed for the Remember When group, and the public, at New Wimbledon Theatre’s Studio.
The performance will also be filmed and shared with the wider community, spreading the word about this life-changing, inter-generational arts project.
It’s a truly exciting process.
With huge thanks to our sponsors
This year, Living Memory is being funded with the support of a generous grant from the Wimbledon Foundation’s Community Fund
The Wimbledon Foundation, established in 2013, is the charity of The All England Lawn Tennis Club and The Championships. The Foundation aims to use the resources and heritage of Wimbledon to help change people’s lives, particularly in the local area and increasingly on a global scale.
In 2020, we hope to fund the project with an award from Tesco’s Bags of Help scheme. We’re currently in the running for a £4,000 contribution – but we need your help to win!
Check out more info on WCTT’s Bags of Help appeal here.
