'Inside Out of Mind' is an innovative new play depicting life on a dementia ward based on research from a team of ethnographers led by Justine Schneider, Professor of Mental Health & Social Care in the School of Sociology and Social Policy.
The project brought together playwright Tanya Myers with Director Stephen Lowe of Meeting Ground theatre group and a team of ethnographic researchers to create a workshop production which brilliantly illustrates the multiple realities of life on a dementia ward. Unlike some theatre commissions which have explicit educational objectives or messages to deliver, the playwright was give total freedom with the resulting outcome representing a triumph of imagination and inspiration which has the potential to reach a wide general audience.
A promotional and high impact DVD, funded by The University of Nottingham's Science, Technology and Society research priority group, has been produced to help spread awareness of the issues raised by the play at relevant conferences, seminars and workshops as well as for use in teaching hundreds of Nottingham health and social care students each year who need to learn about dementia.
The film has also helped locate a cross-disciplinary alliance built around the play in the theoretical field of ethno-drama, a social science methodology that is relatively new. By taking the DVD to conferences it is hoped other researchers, especially those in the field of health, will engage with the issues; develop new teaching materials and explore ways of using drama to portray research findings.
Visit the Institute for Science and Society website to watch the Inside Out of Mind DVD
Visit the Inside Out of Mind website
Posted on Friday 17th August 2012