Punchdrunk Launches Immersive Theatre In Care Homes With GREENHIVE GREEN

Internationally renowned theatre company Punchdrunk has announced a ground-breaking Artists Residencies in Care Homes programme. Supported by intergenerational arts specialists Magic Me, the company brings its signature immersive practice to Greenhive Green, an award-winning care home run by Anchor in Peckham, south London.

Punchdrunk Enrichment has transformed a room in Greenhive care home into a beautiful village green, complete with a florist's shop, phone box, real foliage and smells of fresh cut grass. Residents have come together to form the village committee of Greenhive Green, gathering weekly in the fictional world for committee meetings that are part-soap opera, part-game and part-workshop. Driven by the story of Greenhive Green's ongoing rivalry with neighbouring village Blarford, residents and care home staff participate in multi-sensory activities which have varied from writing poetry to planting flowers.

The project will culminate in a celebration of the committee and their achievements, with special guests including singer-songwriter Beatie Wolfe, who returns for her second performance in Greenhive Green. Each resident will then be invited to their own individual thank you ceremony with Punchdrunk Enrichment's facilitators. Greenhive Green has been directed by Matthew Blake and designed by Julie Landau, with sound design by Stephen Dobbie.

Peter Higgin, Enrichment Director for Punchdrunk, said: "We are constantly looking to deliver high-impact work which both challenges our practice and challenges notions about what is possible within participatory settings. Our ambition for the project has been to give the residents including those living with dementia an empowering and magical experience. The residents and staff have been the real stars - their energy, humour and willingness to come on the journey with us has been humbling."

This marks the first in a two-year programme of residences curated by Magic Me. The performing arts programme will take place across four care homes run by Anchor, in Peckham, Surrey Quays, Westminster and Bethnal Green.

Susan Langford MBE, Director of Magic Me, said: "This programme came out of a desire to challenge the ageist notion that older people, including those living with dementia, might not enjoy or be able to participate in cutting-edge work like Punchdrunk's wonderful immersive worlds. Having worked in care homes for over 25 years, the programme has allowed Magic Me to support some of the most exciting companies in the country to bring their work to a care home audience for the first time. Together we have helped them develop their practice for this specific audience without dumbing down or diluting their work."

Other companies taking part in the programme later this year are performance artist and activist Lois Weaver, alt-cabaret collective Duckie and aerialist and circus company Upswing. Research from the programme will be published in June 2016 and February 2017. The programme is funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Wakefield and Tetley Trust.

Connie Oppong MBE, Manager of Greenhive, which was the first care home in London to be rated "Outstanding" by the Care Quality Commission, said: "This project has proved to be a fantastic addition to the activities we organise here. The residents have thoroughly enjoyed themselves and have been actively looking forward to the sessions each week. We have had positive feedback from residents' relatives about the impact of this work. One family told us their father has shown a marked difference in his confidence and ability to engage over the weeks he has been involved in Greenhive Green. Care homes aren't always the depressing places we all fear them to be, Punchdrunk's Greenhive Green has proved that they can be exciting, forward thinking places where amazing things can happen!"

Since its formation in 2000, Punchdrunk has established an international reputation as a ground-breaking theatre company, creating epic worlds and immersive theatrical experiences that have won the company awards and a popular following. Since 2008, Punchdrunk Enrichment has taken their immersive practice into communities, creating performances with and for children, young people and the wider community.

Examples of other Punchdrunk Enrichment work include installation-based school project The Lost Lending Library and Against Captain's Orders, a family adventure created in partnership with the National Maritime Museum. An extensive professional development programme also ran alongside The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable, a co-production with the National Theatre, as well as on-site projects for primary schools.

All photographs: Paul Cochrane

To post a comment, you must register and login.