Show celebrates what people with dementia can do
BBCA talent contest with a difference aims to show there is life after a dementia diagnosis.
All the contestants performing at Dementia's Got Talent at the Darlington Hippodrome, County Durham, on 21 January are living with the condition.
The show was the brainchild of Robbie Jones, a volunteer at Dementia Friendly Darlington, a group working to create a dementia-inclusive town.
Mr Jones said: "It's important that we show what people with dementia can do, that they've still got their personalities and lots of fun in them."
The show will feature seven contestants, including a pianist, the Cuckoo Club Choir and a salsa dancer.
Also taking part is David Young, 75, a Royal Navy veteran from Darlington, who will be performing a comedy sketch with his wife and carer, Jean.
Mr Young, 75, was diagnosed with dementia three years ago. He said: "It's important that people recognise that dementia of any form isn't the end of life, and really it can be a new beginning.
"I'm very much a believer that you should take the positives out of everything that's good in your life and just go for it."
Mrs Young, 73, said the support she and her husband received from the various dementia groups available in Darlington was "invaluable", and that they "laugh, talk and cry together".
Looking ahead to performing on stage, she said: "I'm probably more nervous than David, but the audience will have a most enjoyable time.
"They will see the pleasure on people's faces [who] are doing the acts and we want to make them aware that having dementia isn't the end of the world."
The evening will also feature performances by Middlesbrough Football Club Academy's Under-12 Choir, Darlington Operatic Society and the town's mayor will be a guest judge.
All proceeds from tickets to the show, which starts at 19:00 GMT, will go to the Alzheimer's Society and dementia groups in Darlington.
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