Dementia Diaries / (Dziennik Demencji)

Poet Maria Jastrzebska’s drama of confusion and conflict visits two generations of an amusingly dysfunctional Anglo-Polish family where both parents are suffering from different forms of dementia. Their long-suffering Polish carer, Mrs Alicja, can cope with the fantasies, the bizarre statements, the truculence and the crazy son, but foxes and crystal vases threaten to get the better of her!

Performed by Polish and British actors, this professional production for five voices combines tenderness, despair, moments of surreal humour and occasional strong language.

Written by Maria Jastrzebska

Incidental music for flute and cello by Peter Copley

Directed by Mark C. Hewitt for LLL Productons

Poster art: Andrzej Klimowski

Maria Jastrzebska was born in Warsaw, grew up in London and now lives in Brighton. Poet, editor, translator and creative writing tutor, her recent collections include Syrena (Redbeck Press, 2004) and I’ll Be Back Before You Know It (Pighog Press, 2008) Her work has appeared in many anthologies and literary magazines and she was a contributor to Telling Tales About Dementia (edited by Lucy Whitman, published by Jessica Kingsley, 2009). Her work has been published in translation in France, Finland, Romania and Slovenia. 

Music for flute and cello composed for Dementia Diaries by Peter Copley and played live by Peter Copley (cello) and Anne Hodgson (flute).

"The music is mostly designed to be a portrayal of the inner life of the respective characters and is only in part intended as a commentary on the unfolding action. It is based around a popular Polish song associated with the underground resistance during the Second World War. It is used in a fragmentary or distorted form throughout and finally quoted in full in the Postlude that concludes the performance." 

Daughter: Daisy Whyte

Mama: Anna Korwin - (photo, right »)

Mrs Alicja: Julia Krynke

Edzio: Sam Booth

Tata: Piotr Baumann

Financial support from Awards for All Big Lottery Fund and East Sussex Arts Partnership is gratefully acknowledged.

• Photo, below: Peter Copley and Anne Hodgson performing in Dementia Diaries at Little Polka Cafe, Eastbourne, April 2009.