St Peter’s Hill Players’ next show ‘Bothered & Bewildered' will support the Alzheimer’s Society, with actors paying a visit to Grantham dementia cafe

Actors set to take to the stage next month paid a visit to people in Grantham who will benefit from their next production.

St Peter’s Hill Players are deep into preparation for their autumn play, Bothered and Bewildered by Gail Young, which will be performed at the Guildhall Arts Centre to raise money and awareness of the Alzheimer’s Society.

‘Bothered and Bewildered’ sees Irene and her daughters Beth and Louise trying to navigate the complexities and strains of life as Irene is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

While her daughters each have their own way of dealing with their mum’s diagnosis, Irene’s passion for romance fiction novels begins to blur with reality - and now she is being coached by none other than Barbara Cartland herself!

The play is being performed in support of the Alzheimer’s Society, and on Wednesday September 6, members of the cast including director Heather Butterworth and Margaret Glenn, who plays Irene, visited the Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Cafe in Grantham’s BHive Community Centre.

They met users of the service, which is run by volunteers, to invite them to come and see the play, as well as hearing all about the cafe from those involved.

Susan Swinburn, founder and chief executive of the cafe, said: “Dementia is a journey - it can be a very isolating thing for the person who has it and it’s hard to make sense of your world.

“This group is a safe space where people can be husbands and wives again, not just patient and carer, and people really look forward to coming each week so they can feel like themselves again.”

Heather Butterworth said that raising awareness and funds for the charity was at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

“Alzheimer’s is a crucial part of the play as when we heard about the dementia cafe in Grantham,” said Heather.

“We knew we wanted to support them with financial help as well as raising awareness of what they do.”

Susan added: “It is fantastic to be working with St Peter’s Hill Players. Their fundraising for us and raising our profile means we will be able to help more people have a better journey, feeling cared for, and we are very grateful to them.”

To book tickets, click here.

Bothered & Bewildered will be performed from Thursday October 12 to Saturday October 14.