Paradise Lodge

Paradise Lodge is a musical comedy, based on the author's experience helping to care for his mother-in-law after she was diagnosed with dementia.

Vi, Ronnie and the other residents of Paradise Lodge care home have gathered in the big lounge to be entertained by Eric and Kylie – 'The Doodlebugs!'. But Vi wants to join her husband on holiday and Ronnie wants to search for his kidnapped family. Trouble is, Vi's husband is dead and Ronnie's family just don't visit.

Eric has had a lot of musical partners, but none of them stick for long – what's his problem anyway? This is Kylie's first gig; she's ballsy and ambitious, but struggles to handle the tricky audience – this isn't what she signed up for.

Through a series of touching flashbacks and comic songs from the war years, Vi, Ronnie and the audience are transported back to a time when they had all their lives before them, when they thought they could live and love forever.

Paradise Lodge looks at how we deal with dementia, through a thought-provoking and hilarious exploration of identity, reality, love and loss.