Review: St Peter’s Hill Players’ production of Bothered and Bewildered does excellent job of raising awareness of dementia

Nick Rowe reviews St Peter’s Hill Players’ recent production of Bothered and Bewildered at the Guildhall Arts Centre.

A play focusing on the impact of dementia on a family sounds like it could be a hard watch but there’s much to enjoy about this play by Liverpool playwright Gail Young.

Billed as a comedy/drama, Bothered & Bewildered lives up to the description with plenty of amusing lines and scenarios. Margaret Glenn is wonderful as Irene, a pensioner going through a slow decline and becoming more confused and belligerent. Rapid mood-swings, intense emotions and comic one-liners are all delivered with conviction and skill.

Irene’s middle-aged daughters are also on the journey and much of the play is centred on the increasingly fraught mother-daughter interactions. Heather Butterworth plays older daughter Louise, always looking to find the best of any situation. The moment when Louise finally breaks down with the realisation that she is losing her mum is very powerful and well executed.

In contrast, her younger sister, Beth, played by Deborah Hart, is a much more cynical character, grumbling about her mother but still showing love and attention. Her snarky comments are perfectly delivered to raise a chuckle.

Many of the scenes are played out in the form of explanation of Irene’s condition to NHS staff. Paul Dexter is perfect as the inquisitive consultant (as well as the local bobby) while Paul Keenan tackles three roles, including Irene’s GP.

All of which would make a perfectly fine story. But what we don’t see in the family and medical interactions is who Irene was and, to an extent, still is. Amongst the kitchen-sink drama is the sparkling pink-and-pearl character of Barbara Cartland who only Irene, an avid reader of romantic fiction, can see and hear.

These are generally the upbeat moments of the play where we discover more about Irene’s past. Prompted by a regal but mischievous Barbara, played with gusto by Suzie Stevens, Irene is confronted with secrets from her past that seep through into her confused present. We see her as a teenager, played by Rachel Armitage (who also doubles up as Irene’s granddaughter) dancing the Lindy Hop while Barbara spouts lines about dashing young men in uniforms wooing innocent virgins.

The minimal staging was very effective with the focus being Irene and her daughters; hats off to Suzie Stevens for being centre-stage for large parts of the play and staying absolutely motionless upon her throne until Barbara was required to intervene in a scene.

Technical elements went without a hitch, and the direction was perfectly handled. Costumes (especially Barbara’s) were generally excellent – with the exception of the bizarre representation of ‘what a nice young man in the mid-1960s would wear’.

With an increasingly ageing population, the situation Irene and her family go through is becoming more and more common. St Peter’s Hill Players have done an excellent job of raising awareness and funds for the Alzheimer’s Society and the local Dementia Café.