Five questions with... Vamos Theatre
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This summer, Worcestershire based theatre company, Vamos Theatre, toured their production of Sharing Joy to care homes, hospital wards and day centres across the country.
We caught up with Rachael Savage, Artistic Director at Vamos Theatre to find out more about the production and why inclusive work like Sharing Joy is so important for people that are living with dementia.
Tell us about Vamos Theatre
Vamos Theatre is the UK’s leading full mask theatre company delivering performances, workshops and training, nationally and internationally. As performances do not use speech (they are wordless and rely on movement and gesture to communicate), our work enables those so often excluded from the performing arts to engage, participate and benefit - making it a highly inclusive artform.
As an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation, we’re the recognised leaders in arts in health and dementia in the UK. This work includes performances in theatres (award-winning, internationally acclaimed, Finding Joy), in care settings for people living with dementia (Sharing Joy, Love Through Double Glazing and Mischief), and our Alzheimer’s Society commissioned training for the health and social care sectors (Listening With Your Eyes).
We’ve reached over 48,000 people through our arts in health themed work over the last 10 years. We’re proud of our unique approach, which inspires people to think and care differently about the health and well-being of those with dementia.
Tell us about Sharing Joy and what makes it so special?
Sharing Joy is a vibrant and colourful interactive performance created for people living with dementia, learning disabilities, and other neurological conditions. It was created in collaboration with JABADAO, who are specialists in working with people in late-stage dementia for over 40 years. Through music, dance, puppetry and laughter, the show brings pleasure and meaning to everyone watching, keeping audiences engaged, involved and exhilarated.
Set in the 1940s and 1950s, there’s music to bring back memories, dancing to enjoy (or join in with), swinging dresses and best suits. It’s playful and joyous, encouraging everyone to take part and express themselves. It’s special because the high levels of participation help audience to feel included and to make genuine connections, which is proven to have a positive impact on mental and physical health.
Because the show is performed in care homes and on hospital wards, we get to perform for people who are all too often excluded from the arts - as well as their carers and families.
How does the show support those living with dementia?
Sharing Joy has a profound, heart-warming impact on the audience. It harnesses the creative, imaginative, and emotional potential of the audience, bringing joy and genuine connection that lasts long after the performance has ended.
It helps to build and encourage confidence, attention and communication, improving well-being and contentment. And Sharing Joy involves high levels of participation, which are proven to improve mental and physical health.
“Very different. Delightful. Made my day.”
Elaine, audience member
What impact does the show have on audiences and care-workers?
The feedback from audiences has been really heartening. We’ve received so many lovely comments from people living with dementia. Care workers have also told us about the positive impact that the show has had on their residents saying that even those who hadn’t communicated very well before were suddenly filled with emotion and were chatting to care staff for days later. They’ve told us how they’ve loved seeing their residents faces and eyes light up and how they’ve loved the creative, energetic and engaging nature of the performance.
Sharing Joy also supports care workers’ learning, showing community-based, person-centred care in action and promoting an ethos of empathy, listening, acceptance, and playfulness.
It’s always so fantastic to hear this feedback. We see those reactions for ourselves too and it’s always really uplifting to know that the show has made such a positive impact.
“…a magical afternoon, the smiles on the faces of staff and patients alike was absolutely priceless.”
Amanda, Consultant Dementia Nurse
Why do you think it is so important to create this kind of work?
We know that people living with dementia face daily barriers to participation - from travel and finance, through to a lack of accessible opportunities - activities many of us take for granted.
Access to the arts has the potential to reach the creative part of the brain, combatting the stress of memory loss, improving mood, restoring a sense of personal identity, and enabling expression. It’s why shows like Sharing Joy are so important - overcoming those barriers to participation and creating work that can have such a positive impact on people’s health and wellbeing.
We love doing what we do and we’re really looking forward to touring the production again in 2025.
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