Real stories

‘I made my comedy debut at a dementia talent show’

Maureen's outlook living with dementia

My natural inclination is to always look on the bright side of life. 

Whenever something bad has happened, I try to look for the good.

And I’ve learned that if you can make people laugh, it breaks the tension. 

I don’t always set out to do it intentionally, but my amusing stories just come out. My body may be going downhill but my gob ain’t. 

Having dementia and staying independent

I’ve always been independent – if I can do something, I’ll do it.

So when Dementia Friendly Darlington announced that they were putting on the show, I didn’t hesitate. 

I like to put my foot first and then think after.

I’ve never performed before, never been on stage and never thought about it either! 

But I love telling my stories. I knew straight away that I’d like to talk about growing up in east London during and after the war.

I don’t see performing as going out of my comfort zone because I’ve done a million and one different jobs. 

I’ve made parts for airplanes, parts for cars, I’ve done food, I’ve done clothing, I’ve worked in shops. I’ve done all sorts.

Dementia group

I’m a member of The Cuckoo Club, a local social support group run by and for people with dementia, their families and carers. 

It’s supported by Alzheimer’s Society and Dementia Friendly Darlington. 

I feel so comfortable when I’m with them.

We meet in the café at Darlington Hippodrome every week, so we’re used to the venue and many of us also performed in the show with The Cuckoo Club Choir.

To practise my routine, I worked with a local journalist called Peter. He would ask me questions to spark my memories, and it worked smashing.

Performing on stage

It was exciting backstage – we had local students doing our hair and makeup and there was a fantastic atmosphere.

My two sons and two daughters travelled with their families to be there and brought friends. It was nice to feel supported.

Once I was on the stage, my nerves just went. 

You could hear the laughter and cheering but I couldn’t see faces, so it wasn’t so scary.

Comedy routine

Mine was sit-down rather than stand-up comedy – I couldn’t be on my feet for long, so Peter and I had chairs on stage. 

In fact, my chair got the first laughs because it kept creaking.

I got some big laughs about my mischievous childhood. 

I talked about pinching rhubarb and apples and hiding them in my knickers. 

I used to get my sister’s hand-me-downs and she was four years older – so my clothes were always too big. 

But there was plenty of room for fruit in my big drawers and my mum made some lovely pie and tarts with it.

Raising dementia awareness

All the performers were fantastic.

I made people laugh and that’s what I like to do. It’s not about fame or anything, just making people feel good.

It’s very important to have events like this to raise awareness because dementia’s much more common than some people think.

My message is that you shouldn’t be frightened to tell others you’ve got dementia. Own it – you didn’t bring it on yourself.

If you want to do something, do it. I’ve always lived my life like that and I intend to carry on in this spirit too.