Inspired by personal family experiences of dementia parallelled with themes of ageing in King Lear, writer and performer Paul Shearman confronts the devastating prospect of a Shakespearean actor losing the language that defines him. Following a once-celebrated actor as he prepares for what may be his final role, his rehearsal on an empty stage turns into a reckoning as his memory falters, words slip away, his grasp on time starts to blur and his past collides with the present. Created to represent dementia not as an isolated experience but as a shared journey, The Last Audition blends humour, vulnerability, and storytelling with classic Shakespeare, to examine identity and the quiet courage required to keep going when everything familiar begins to fade.

Description supplied by the event organiser.