Review: PARADISE LODGE, Chiswick Playhouse

Eric (Steve Cooper) and Kylie (Sophie Osborne), a musical duo called The Doodlebugs, are embarking on their very first tour. However, the engagement is not exactly what Kylie expected.

As the two start their first performance at Paradise Lodge Care Home, she finds herself singing funny war songs to a crowd who seems to be unawares of what's going on in front of them. Through flashbacks, they present a delicate take on what it means to care for those affected by dementia.

Written by Cooper himself and inspired by his time at his mother-in-law's side, Paradise Lodge is a punch in the gut followed by a joke to cheer you up. As they bicker on material and delivery, they show the underlying sadness that pervades the room with a gentle and subtle process. While Eric sees performing for the elderly as a sort of tribute to them and their contributions to society, Kylie finds it difficult to compromise her LAMDA degree with the less-than-ideal situation she found herself in.

"Reality for them is a body that wants to die and pills that won't let it" Eric says the umpteenth time Kylie says she isn't happy with the act. Her attitude is firmly shut down by the man and, when she realises her reasoning behind his motives, she finally understand where his respectful and honouring perspective comes from. They reach this resolution gradually, with Cooper's empathy and compassion bleeding through Eric. Both actors take on a handful of characters who are as funny as they are heartbreaking.

Vi and Ronnie are two old souls whose children couldn't care for them in the way their needs demanded, so they found themselves stuck in the home. Their characterisation is acute and exceptionally physical. Both minds nearly gone, they find solace in their identity while they struggle to negotiate their age with the outer world. Eric finds comfort in easing some of their loneliness, dragging them out of their failing memory and transporting them back to their glory days through music.

Paradise Lodge is a wholesome piece of theatre that sparks a reflection on the inevitability of mental and bodily decline. Cooper's writing highlights the responsibility of granting a decent descent rather than one of solitude and isolation, bringing a good dose of silly fun to an otherwise disheartening subject.

Paradise Lodge runs a the Chiswick Playhouse until 24 October.

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