Voices from the Frontline

Dr Andrea Capstick, Dr Giorgia Previdoli, Dr Ana Barbosa and Clare Mason (Centre for Applied Dementia Studies, University of Bradford) carried out research into the experiences of care home staff working with people with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The richness of the testimonies was turned into a play script and performed at the Theatre in the Mill (University of Bradford) at the end of March and early May. The play “Voices from the Frontline” uses an approach called verbatim theatre, which means the stories care home staff told researchers were reproduced word-for-word by actors.  The actors were volunteers and included amongst others relatives and academics.

The play was performed in memory of Kevin Scanlan, a long-standing member of the Centre for Applied Dementia Studies’ Experts by Experience panel prior to his death in a care home in September 2020. Kevin had previously acted as an advisor to the actor John Middleton when his on-screen character on Emmerdale (British soup opera) was diagnosed with dementia in 2015. John Middleton kindly chaired the first performance of “Voices from the Frontline”, which can be watched here.

For further enquires, please email dementia@bradford.ac.uk