The Keys Are In The Margarine

These are conversations we need to hear. Today, more than 70,000 New Zealanders live with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia – a number that is expected to triple by 2050. They are conditions none of us can ignore, but few of us can understand – making this a significant piece of theatre.

This play is created from interviews with people who have direct experience of these conditions – caregivers, family members, doctors and the people themselves. Their stories communicate the all-encompassing effect dementia has on their lives and everyone around them.

In the performance the four actors re-present the edited testimony from 17 people as precisely as possible. With the original voices playing in their ears the actors relay the original words spoken (every vocal inflection, intonation and hesitation) as well as replicating the physical gestures and facial expressions that originally accompanied the words. The result is compelling, informative and stunning theatre.