The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Actors highlight real-life issues
Performance: Passersby quick to help stranded OAPS
Dundee shoppers were given a shocking insight into isolation and loneliness through an interactive theatre performance that saw elderly people left stranded in public places.
The project, called BED, arrived at the city’s Wellgate Shopping Centre yesterday when members of the public came face-to-face with older actors portraying confused, bed-bound characters.
The presentation saw passersby drawn into the stories of each of the performers, either by helping with small tasks, such as giving medication, or by having their own words and reactions weaved into the narrative.
Deptford-based theatre company Entelechy Arts said the performance, designed by a group of artists in their seventies and eighties, helped highlight the realities faced by many elderly people.
Artistic director David Slater said: “The response from the public has been huge. Of course, it can be surreal to see an elderly person lying vulnerable in these spaces but a lot of people are affected by this. I think we all fear, growing older and feeling isolated.”
Yesterday’s performance saw crowds of shoppers stop to interact with the actors and find out if they could do anything to help, with many coming away saying the group had raised an important issue.
Marka Rifat, who was visiting the city from Stonehaven, said: “It’s the kind of thing you would expect to be going on at the Fringe so to see it here in this setting is really fantastic. I hope it gets people thinking.”
Mary Stewart, 66, from Dundee said: “I worked with the elderly so I know unfortunately these issues can be an everyday occurrence. Hopefully by bringing it into a very public space, it can help to raise awareness.”
Wellgate manager Peter Aitken said: “If this performance makes people think and, better still, spurs them into action, it can only be a good thing.”
dhealey@thecourier.co.uk It’s a startling thing to see a vulnerable, elderly person stranded in the middle of a busy shopping centre.
Your first instinct, of course, is to step in and find out how you can help. When it’s put right in front of you, in the middle of your busy weekday afternoon, it’s hard to ignore in the way we all too often do.
Throughout the day, the people of Dundee stopped to look and many seamlessly switched to the role of care provider, offering to help fetch water or a photograph, despite it all being for show.
I heard more than one person say the performance was the kind of thing they might expect at the Edinburgh Fringe but parking those beds right outside the shops we visit every day shows these issues really are far closer to home.