NTW start Dementia Awareness Week with a new song written by Manic Street Preachers Nicky Wire and James Dean Bradfield, from their upcoming play, Before I Leave. Written by Patrick Jones and directed by Matthew Dunster, Before I Leave is the story of a group of individuals who find themselves brought together in a choir for people with dementia and Alzheimers. Set in Merthyr, Before I Leave is full of songs by artists such as Tom Jones and the Sex Pistols, as well as this new one from Wire and JDB.
In Merthyr, people who are losing themselves find each other in a choir for individuals living with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Joe is too young, this shouldn’t be happening to him; Dyanne battles to hold on to the man she married. Evan and Rocky fight a 30-year-old fight – the miners’ strike may be long gone, but the scars remain as the memories jumble and fade. Ex-librarian and mezzo-soprano Marge has lost her voice. Perhaps only the choir can help her get it back. And Isabelle won’t let her spirit be locked away and forgotten in a care home that she thinks doesn’t care at all. A funny, moving and ultimately uplifting production featuring covers of well-known songs by artists ranging from Tom Jones to the Sex Pistols, plus a new song by Nicky Wire and James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers. – NTW, Before I Leave