A story of memory, motherhood and letting go, ‘Slipping Through My Fingers’
Slipping Through My Fingers, a show by Beware My Sting Productions, was an emotive play detailing the grief and struggles of Alzheimer’s and dementia. The play held at the Ince’s Hall Theatre is a personal story and a debut for write and director Alex Louise, who is a Gibraltarian living in the UK and decided to ring this play home.
The story was inspired by the real-life experiences of writer and director Alex Louise, alongside her mum Lesley Louise and her sister Becky Louise, during her grandmother's Aileen’s battle with Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Aileen’s story, known to Alex as Nana, forms the emotional core of the play. Some moments on the stage were drawn closely from real life, making the performance feel raw and personal.
The play tells a deeply moving story about memory loss, love and the obstacles families face when living with dementia.
The play follows three generation of women and explores much more than dementia itself. Through the relationships between the characters, it examines love, frustration, grief, loneliness, family relationships, and the difficult process of letting go.
The cast played their roles phenome. Jules Craig, who played Maggie, captured the confusion, frustration, and vulnerability of a woman slowly losing her memory and senses of herself. Sarah Widdas, Lou portrayed the complicated emotions of a daughter dealing with grief, frustration, and love. Emma Howarth, who depicted Amelia, brought warmth and sensitivity to the role of the granddaughter trying to hold everyone together.
The play opened in darkness and complete silence, creating a tense, intimate atmosphere. As the lights came up, Maggie was asleep in her bed in a care home while Lou sat beside her, looking overwhelmed and broken.
The story then moved through several stages of the family’s life. Maggie began to lose her memory, Lou was shown as a teenager preparing to go to university; later, Lou was married and had Amelia and the play then shifted to Amelia’s teenage years, when she supported both her mother and grandmother.
During one Christmas scene, Amelia was talking to her mother Lou about how she was knitting Sam her girlfriend a Christmas jumper, but Lou did not know who this Sam was. This revealed that Lou, too, was beginning to lose her memory and this showed that dementia can sometimes be hereditary.
Although the characters were Scottish and the play was performed in English, Alex drew on her Gibraltarian upbringing by including Llanito expressions and familiar local places. These references gave the play an added sense of authenticity for Gibraltarian audiences.
For example, Lou goes to Corks with her friends for a night out, reflecting a time that only millennial will understand and that is hanging out in Irish Town during a Friday and Saturday night, before places such as Ocean Village and Chatham existed.
Another particularly nostalgic scene shows teenager Lou spending time at Casemates after school, a familiar social traditions that is less common among today’s generation.
And as for the Llanito words used in the play were like “un poco loco,” “japonesa” and even “The Mircelo Loco” was mentioned because Maggie went there to buy Amelia some slippers.
The play was written beautifully. It captured what people like me who did not understand much about when it comes to Alzheimer and dementia. It is more than just forgetting to put the tea bag in your mug. It is that feeling of waking up and forgetting those around you and even looking at yourself in the mirror makes you feel like a stranger.
If you missed out on watching the play in Gibraltar. The play will be touring in the United Kingdom, the art council has funded the production, Alex mentioned this during her speech while she thanked the audience for coming.
For more info, visit the production’s Facebook page: Beware My Sting Productions
