One Hundred Trillion - A heartwarming display of memory.

Dementia diagnosis, as stated within this production, is sadly continuing to rise. Current generations require to be educated and prepared for this devastating condition, and One Hundred Trillion aims to raise awareness of exactly this, whilst also providing you with a stellar night out.

When I first walked into the Old Vic Workrooms, I was a little apprehensive to say the least. I think it would be a fair analysis that my knowledge of dementia is rather limited, and I was fully preparing myself for an emotional and hard-hitting piece of theatre which would leave me upset and deflated. However, what I was greeted with was so much more than just an educational experience. I was moved - both in heartache and humour. I left, like everyone else, feeling uplifted and incredibly hopeful.

One Hundred Trillion is an immersive experience combining four short plays inspired by workshops conducted in elderly care homes in South East London. The project was run by the Dot Collective, who aim to raise positive awareness of dementia in the hopes of giving those affected a better quality of life.

The show opened with “The Bookcase Analogy”, which was the perfect introduction as someone who hasn’t been able to fully comprehend quite how dementia affects the brain. It cleverly compared the brain to a bookcase, explaining how it can deteriorate overtime from dementia. It was very helpful and set the tone of the piece perfectly.

The four plays (Frames, I Could Have Danced All Night, Topsoil and London Bus) were so vastly different, but each carried a lot of heart to it. Knowing that members of care homes had helped to piece these stories together gave the pieces an added sense of warmth - they were all truthful and hilarious and I wish they could have been longer than they were.

The performances of the entire company were incredibly strong. Their comedic timing was excellent and they all clearly had a real passion for telling these stories and raising awareness for the Dot Collective. However, it was the chemistry of Maggie Daniels and Robert Hickson which really stood out to me. They played a couple within the play I Could Have Danced All Night as well as allotment neighbours in Topsoil. The way they bounced off of each other’s performances was inspiring and they seemed to impact the entire audience when they shared the two different stories of love.

The set design (Laura Harling) of the show was stunning. There was a very deliberate attention to detail which allowed all of the plays to feel so much more realistic and really helped the audience to feel involved within the plays. At one point, the audience is taken through a greenhouse in order to access another performance space. In the greenhouse alone there were family pictures in frames, gardening tools and lots of other small details which perfectly fit the character they belonged to. It’s all of these small nuanced things which have the ability to completely elevate a piece and the result was simply wonderful.

It should be noted that, as an immersive experience, there are moments of audience participation - which some people understandably will not enjoy. However if you can bare with this, One Hundred Trillion will most definitely make it worth your while.

My biggest criticism would be that the hour long production was simply too short for me. I fell in love with the show and it’s atmoshere and happily could have continued watching it for another hour. However it communicates itself within a short space of time very well and doesn’t feel rushed at any moment.

To sum up, One Hundred Trillion is simply brilliant theatre. It is heartfelt and human and deserves audiences to learn and experience this wonderful piece of theatre. I wish them every success with their run, as well as the Dot Collective’s future productions to continue raising awareness for such an important cause.

One Hundred Trillion is at the Old Vic Workrooms until 11th May.

To See or Not To See? To See!

Star Rating: ***** 5 stars

Images provided courtesy of Headshot Toby.