Abstract
The concluding chapter returns to two main arguments presented in the book. The first, that any notion of relationality in dementia care must account for the relationships that people with dementia have with the non-human, and the second, that that the arts have a cultural role to play in supporting dementia care as a creative practice. It concludes that while the shape and feel of care can manifest in different creative ways, performance in care homes should be characterised by an embodied, intuitive and intimate connection between people and things. By emphasising the nature of being in relationships, this type of performance transcends physical ability, cognitive capacity, or a formal arts training, offering an opportunity to be present in the here and now.
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Notes
- 1.
In 2019, for example, the National Theatre in London cast Sarah Gordy, an actor with Down’s Syndrome, in Jellyfish, a production about a woman with Downs Syndrome and her relationship with a neurotypical man. In the same year, the National Theatre of Scotland became the first of the UK’s national theatres to open a residency scheme for neurodiverse artists.
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Hatton, N. (2021). Conclusion. In: Performance and Dementia. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51077-0_9
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