Hear about In Other Words from writer and actor Matthew Seager

More than ten years ago I was in my last year studying Theatre and Performance at Leeds University. We were facilitating sensory stimulation workshops in a dementia care home in the hope of stimulating memory and social engagement and had decided that morning to play some music at the end of the session. We had gone with Frank Sinatra’s My Way... I pressed play and what happened next totally floored me. Nearly every resident in that care home stood up and sang, without the need for the song sheets, what seemed like every word.

The use of music is not a miraculous fix but it can offer a lifeline to those caring for someone living with dementia. Regular interactions with music in care homes can reduce the need for anti-psychotic meditation in 67% of cases, which is an undeniably impressive statistic.

Matthew Seager Writer and Actor, In Other Words, For Broadway World

Making work for, or about, people living with dementia – particularly focusing on the power of music to connect them to the world and their loved ones – has formed the most consistent part of my career over the past decade.

I often meet people who want to share their story after seeing In Other Words. I’m consistently struck by the remarkable acts of compassion, resilience and optimism human beings are capable of, especially when caring for someone they love.

It has taught me to be better at accessing those qualities within myself, and I have also learned that it is possible to find moments of hope and beauty even in the bleakest of circumstances.

Matthew Seager Writer and Actor, In Other Words, For The Guardian