An Evening With Dementia

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Trevor T Smith gives an affecting performance as he makes visible the rarely-seen struggle of dementia sufferers from their own perspective. This idea is commendable and original; clearly a talented and experienced actor, his physicality is startlingly convincing, almost distractingly so, from the moment the lights go down.

At first, by refusing to see the dementia "sufferer" as such, the play could serve as an empowering comedy created for those with the illness. Smith gives advice on how to navigate a route around a moth-eaten memory, presenting an awareness of, and control over, his steady decline. But An Evening With Dementia is ultimately a drama, and further into the performance, tears—induced by touching half-remembrances—are never far away. It is important to note that this is not mere sadness for sadness’ sake. The script includes some remarkable imagery and elegiac dialogue, prompting a philosophical exploration of the journey of life and what lies at its finish line. It takes a damaged but fundamentally wise perspective on life and requires its audience to contemplate its own existence – a feat which only solid drama can manage.

An Evening With Dementia is unconventional. One cannot avoid wondering whether it might be better in written form – perhaps as a novel. The script itself, though very beautiful and thought-provoking in parts, still feels confused, and unsure whether it is a empowering comedy, a political satire, a Shakespearian tragedy or a brave contemporary monologue.