A SHOW created with the help of people living with dementia which aims to “change perceptions” about the illness is touring theatres and care homes across Scotland.

Curious Shoes, which is being staged at Dundee Rep this week, uses humour, music and imagery, among other things, to stimulate the creative sides of dementia patients.

It was developed by Magdalena Schamberger, honorary professor with the division of nursing at Queen Margaret University and co-founder and former artistic director of the Hearts and Minds charity.

She decided to create a bespoke piece of theatre for dementia patients after being awarded a Breakthrough Fund grant from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation in 2014.

All of the performers and designers in Curious Shoes have undergone training and a focus group of people with dementia and their families was set up so they could be part of the show’s creation.

“I want to change perceptions within society for those with dementia,” Schamberger said. “We need to go much further than the activities currently provided. I’m very much about not focusing on memory. We know that’s their challenge, so why focus on it?

“We focus on imagination rather than memory because it gives perspective, a sense of possibility and future. We keep it small so we can really connect with each individual. People are very engaged and at the end everybody gets up and dances with us.”

Schamberger said she was pleased to be able to stage the production in Scotland as it is at the forefront of working with people living with dementia.

“The Scottish Government is one of the first to have a National Dementia Strategy and is very forward-thinking. There are lots of things happening here that people from other countries are looking at and I am delighted to be part of that and have an impact,” she said.

The show is called Curious Shoes as people with advanced dementia often spend a lot of time curled up in bed and what they see first when people visit them are shoes rather than faces, Schamberger said.

“I thought it would be good to create something about shoes and rhythm to make them curious, make them look up and make them connect with the world,” she added.

“It has a story line for those who want to follow it but other than that it is evocative pictures joined together so if someone loses focus it does not matter.

“There are very few words and the ones there are repetitive or associated with certain characters.”

Curious Shoes will soon move on to Edinburgh, Inverness, St Andrews, Stirling and the Western Isles.

“The feedback has been fantastic,” said Schamberger. “One woman said she saw a bit of her mum through the fog of dementia.

“If you don’t focus on memory or words you can reach people more easily. Creativity, humour and rhythm stay longer with people with dementia and that is what we are trying to tap into.

“People are allowed to do what they have to do so if someone wants to get up and dance that’s fine. Some even get up to help the characters.

“A lot of people with dementia are no longer allowed to contribute and being able to do that gives them a huge amount of joy.”