A musical comedy set in a care home, Paradise Lodge is based on writer Steve Cooper’s experience of caring for his mother-in-law in her final years as she lived with dementia. One in three people will develop dementia and Paradise Lodge encourages people to think about the person behind the condition.
Eric and Kylie, a dysfunctional ukulele musical duo called The Doodlebugs, embark on their first gig together at the Paradise Lodge Care Home. Told in a series of touching flashbacks and comic songs from the war years, Paradise Lodge transports Vi, Ronnie and the audience back to a time when they had all their lives in front of them – to when they thought they would live forever.
Trying to make sense of dementia and its impact on those affected, Paradise Lodge explores the nature of identity, reality and loss, with a bit of Beyonce’s Single Ladies thrown in for good measure. A hilarious, heart-wrenching production, it will have audiences laughing, crying and singing their hearts out.
Paradise Lodge plays at Underbelly Bristo Square (Dairy Room) as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The show runs from 31st July – 26th August (not 12th) at 1:15pm. Find out more and book tickets here.
