DEMENTIA FRIENDLY PERFORMANCE GUIDE

Welcome!

Thank you for booking tickets for our Dementia-Friendly Performance of ‘The

Mikado’ on Wed 26 July at 2pm.

We’d like to provide you with a little bit more information about your visit.

What is a dementia-friendly performance?

We believe that people living people living with dementia should be able to

enjoy live theatre with friends and family, but appreciate there may be some

challenges surrounding a visit to the theatre.

For this special performance we will consider everything from sound and

lighting cues, stage action and seating plans, signage and refreshment services

to make your visit as enjoyable as possible. There will be lots of friendly staff

on hand to help if you need any assistance during your visit.

Getting to The Lowry

By Car

The Lowry is a 10 minute drive from Manchester City Centre, 20 minutes from

Manchester Airport, and a quarter of a mile from the motorway network,

giving access from all over the North West and beyond.

From the M60 take junction 12 for the M602. The Quays is a quarter of a mile

from junction 3 of the M602. Follow the brown Lowry logo signs.

Parking

The primary disabled parking facility for The Lowry is The Lowry Outlet Mall car

park.

We recommend that Blue Badge holders enter The Lowry Outlet car park at

the entrance near the mini-roundabout on the road leading from The Quays

(pictured above) as this will allow parking on the ground floor level.

The Lowry Outlet car park offers 4 hours free parking for disabled patrons on

production of their blue badge at either the Car Parking Office or at the

Information Desk. For more information please contact their team on 0161 848

1850.

The Lowry does offer two dedicated parking spaces on our service road (to the

side of the building, through the security barriers) for Blue Badge holders.

These are available on a first come first served basis, and cannot be booked in

advance.

By Metrolink

The Lowry is easily accessible via two Metrolink lines, the Eccles line (alight at

Harbour City), and the Media City UK line (alight at Media City UK). Travelling

from Manchester City Centre, the Metrolink takes approximately ten to fifteen

minutes.

By Train

If you are exiting the train at Oxford Road Station, walk up Oxford Road

towards St Peter's Square, where you can board the Metrolink (see above).

If you are leaving the train at Piccadilly or Victoria Station, there will be clearly

signposted Metrolink stations nearby.

By Bus

Buses that go along the Quays and past The Lowry:

50 - East Didsbury - The Lowry. Regular service running every fifteen minutes,

including Sundays.

69 - Eccles – Stretford. Regular service until 6pm, excluding Sundays and Bank

Holidays. 245 - Altrincham - Exchange Quay. Regular service running every

thirty minutes approximately (alight at Imperial War Museum).

Arriving and getting around The Lowry

The two main doors into the building have buttons to automatically open the

doors. These are on the top of low–level posts, both inside and outside.

Each main entrance has an internal textured mat which is level with the

surrounding floor.

Please note that our security staff may ask to search your bags when you

arrive – this is just a precaution and nothing to worry about.

Staff and Volunteers are on hand in the main foyer to help with building

information, access to the cloakroom facility and hire of wheelchairs (free of

charge to use). If you would like to hire a wheelchair please call our Welcome

Desk on 0161 876 2016.

The Welcome Desk faces the main entrance opposite the Box Office. The Box

Office is inside the main foyer as you go in through the double glass doors.

The foyer is a wide colourful space with high ceilings, large angled windows

and sloping blue floors. Throughout the building the floor surfaces are smooth

polished terrazzo, textured rubber, carpet, wood and tiled.

The foyer can be very busy and noisy before and after a performance but there

are lots of spaces around the building that you can go to such as the Tower

Coffee Shop, Circle Bar or Pier Eight Bar and Restaurant.

Collecting Tickets

If you haven’t already got your tickets, you will be able to collect them from

Box Office.

The Box Office counter is by the main doors to The Lowry – all you have to do

is tell them your name and postcode.

Ushers

The Ushers, who are always happy to help, will be wearing a red or purple

jumper or t-shirt with a badge like this.

‘The Mikado’ will be in the Quays theatre.

To find the Quays theatre, turn left after walking in the main doors, and follow

the corridor past the Pier Eight Bar & Restaurant.

The Quays theatre looks like this once you’re inside.

During the show

If you need to leave the theatre at any point during the performance, feel free

to do so. Ushers will be on hand to help you to and from your seat and the

performance will be being relayed on a screen just outside the Quays theatre,

so if you prefer to sit and watch from there at any point, that’s fine.

Toilets

Accessible toilets are available on the stalls level of the Quays bar. If your seats

are not on this level, there is a lift avaailble.

About the show

All the parts in this production will be played by male actors.

The story:

The curtain rises to reveal a camp site where a group of young boys are

enjoying a night in the woods. One boy is being bullied and when lights are out

he finds himself alone curled up in front of the fire. He starts to dream of a far

away land and as he does we are taken to the land of Titipu, all the boys get

dressed up as the Gentlemen of Japan and so the story begins…

Nanki-Pooh has fled his father (The Mikado) to avoid a marriage with the

rather terrifying Katisha. In disguise as a second trombone player he looks for

his beloved Yum-Yum in the Town of Titipu, having heard that the man she was

to marry, Ko-Ko, is to be executed.

The Mikado has decreed that it is illegal to flirt and anyone doing so will be put

to death. Ko-Ko was caught flirting but rather than getting his head chopped

off was given the role of The Lord High Executioner to chop other people’s off!

So unbeknownst to Nanki-Pooh, Ko-Ko still intends to marry his young ward

Yum-Yum.

As Nanki-Pooh has been promised to Katisha and Yum-Yum is expected to

marry Ko-Ko, their love can never be.

When news arrives that the Mikado will be visiting Titipu (looking for his son)

they presume it’s to see if any executions have taken place so go about finding

a volunteer to be beheaded. As Nanki-Pooh cannot marry his love, Yum-Yum,

he wants to kill himself, so, the ideal man to be put forward for execution. He

strikes a deal with Ko-Ko that if he can marry Yum-Yum he would be happy to

live for a month then be beheaded to allow Ko-Ko to marry her after his death.

The Mikado arrives sooner than expected so Ko-Ko pretends that the execution

has already happened and asks Yum-Yum and Nanki-Pooh to marry and flee.

It’s proudly announced that a beheading has taken place but when the name is

revealed the Mikado realises that it’s his son which leaves him little option but

to put all involved in the beheading, to death!

To avoid certain doom, they have to tell the Mikado that his son, Nanki-Pooh is

in fact, alive and the execution never happened. Nanki-Pooh, however, is

afraid he may be put to death as he’s still been promised to Katisha, the only

way for it to end happily is for Katisha to marry someone else, Ko-Ko

belligerently starts to woo her and manages to win her round.

With Katisha and Ko-Ko married, Nanki-Pooh can reveal his execution was a

fake so all ends happily in the town of Titipu,

As the celebrations start the dream world disappears leading us back to the

camp site where the boy, once bullied, is now accepted by his companions.

If you need any extra information in the lead up to your visit, please contact us

on 0161 876 2183.

We are interested to know how you found the experience of our Dementia-

Friendly Relaxed Performance and invite you to share your thoughts after the

show with us by emailing access@thelowry.com