Nottingham actor Vicky McClure attended a special red carpet screening of her new BBC One Documentary 'Our Dementia Choir Sings Again' at Confetti X on Huntingdon Street. Many of the choir members attended the emotional screening which culminated in an uplifting sing-a-long at the end of the evening.
Many of the audience members, including the choir, were visibly moved by the second episode of the series which is currently on BBC One on Monday evenings at 9pm. They cheered, laughed, clapped and sang along with many of the moments as the episode delved into the preparations for their performance at Splendour Festival.
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The choir including Vicky and musician Tom Grennan performs his hit record, 'Please Remind Me' to over 20,000 people as part of the festival. One of the most memorable parts of the moving performance was a speech about life with dementia from choir member Julie Hill who also starred in the episode.
In a panel discussion, Vicky was joined by Julie and choirmaster Mark De-Lisser to discuss Splendour and the choir. She recalled the magic of performing at the festival and said she wouldn't rule out bringing the choir to parliament if invited.
"It was absolutely magic and it really did help to change the narrative. We were on stage at a festival that is lively, vibrant and young which is exactly what we need to stop dementia being seen as a young person's disease that we are scared of. We have lots of members of the choir that are of a young age so this stigma really needs to change," she said.
"The choir, the dementia movement and everything that comes with it has been my proudest achievement in my life. This might be a television project at times but there is so much that I do off-camera as well, therefore, it's the proudest moment in my life. It doesn't feel like work at all."
In the first episode, the choir made musical history by recording and releasing a single at the historic Abbey Road studios. The second episode focuses on meeting a new choir member Steve as he was diagnosed with dementia and highlighted the need for better care, services, and support for those living with dementia.
Vicky said she 'couldn't be prouder' of every person who makes the choir what it is and that recording at such a famous studio was a 'huge achievement'. She highlighted that there were plenty of things that people can do if feeling inspired by the performances or the episodes to get involved.
"You can become a dementia friend through the Alzheimers Society which will give you great tools to be helpful within society and your community. You never know if you are walking past someone with dementia as it's not like a broken leg where you can see," she said.
"You can have a great conversation with lots of people with dementia. They have lots of great stories to tell and teach you which is a good start. Just do what you can in your own community."
In the panel discussion, everyone was keen to stress that language matters when it comes to people living with dementia in order to break the stigma. Vicky highlighted that music can be exceptionally helpful when it comes to those with dementia and it isn't just something that affects older people.
In the episode, she visits another choir who have joined a local school to bring young children in to sing with the members. The initiative helps to break down stereotypes and encourage greater communication. Vicky is open to the idea of doing this with schools in Nottingham.
"It's not just older people and music is a really helpful tool in a lot of ways as it can improve mood or function. There is a science behind it and we have really tried to hone in on that throughout the series. We delve into individual diagnosis and make sure people get the care and support they need afterward," she said.
The choir has gone on to become a charity since series one and it now has a waiting list full of people who would like to take part. The choir is planning more events for Christmas and is busy with bookings.
Watch Ep 2 on Monday 17 October 2022 at 9pm on BBC One and you can catch Ep 1 on BBC iPlayer.
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