Home Activities Spring into Summer spreads joy to Northwest care home residents

Spring into Summer spreads joy to Northwest care home residents

by Kirsty Kirsty

A brand-new piece of theatre is set to tour care homes across the Liverpool City Region this summer, spreading joy to residents. Spring into Summer, presented by Nwoko Arts, has been created by and for care home residents, particularly those living with Dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases, and their loved ones.

This 60-minute participatory experience, including a 30-minute performance blending movement, music, comedy, visual art, and the sounds of summer will tour 30+ care homes across Liverpool, Sefton and Knowsley, beginning at Cressington Court on 1 August.

The piece was created through verbatim interviews with care home residents and consultation with medical expert, clinical consultant Louise Douglas, RMN, NMP, MSc,, Cert. Couns. Recordings of residents’ memories of summers past, and dreams for summers to come have been used to create the show and are played during the performance.

The idea behind the piece was conceived by Peter Ward, former Artistic Director/ CEO at Hope Street Limited and founder and Artistic Director or Rathbone Community Theatre and Maria Paul of Nwoko Arts. It is inspired and created in collaboration with Graeme Phillips MBE, former Artistic Director at Unity, Liverpool.

Peter says; “After a difficult two and a half years of living in isolation we hope Spring into Summer will bring some colour, music and spectacle to Clinically Extremely Vulnerable people, and remind them that they have not been forgotten. This is a very special piece for me, inspired by love, a beach umbrella that turned into a dancing lady, and my desire to do something creative in response to the loneliness experienced by residents in the care sector throughout the pandemic.”

Directed by Elinor Randle (Tmesis Theatre) Spring into Summer is performed by Leila Chebbi, Samuel Pérez Durán and Maria Paul. The performance will be complemented by vinyl illustrations by Gill Smith which will be left in the windows of care homes across the tour to be enjoyed by residents and visitors for as long as they wish.   Using residents’ voices, a moving and hilarious soundscape is created by Sound Designer, Stephen Hull.

Spring into Summer is commissioned by Culture Liverpool and supported by Arts Council England and tours the Liverpool City Region from 29 July. 

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