Gradually, Thomas also started playing for the public. “I can’t soften the process, it’s a tough process, when you see your partner, mother or father change. But I want to teach people to deal with it, so that they are no longer the spectator. That they are no longer the see a sick man or woman, but that they get to know their mother, father or partner in a completely different way I play Ton van de Poel, who also says, I hate the D word, dementia, it means despirit, less mind, while the opposite is the case. I remain Ton van de Poel, the spirit, the soul, the essence of man remains. The love, the knowledge, but I can no longer communicate what I feel. So the other has the task of to make contact with me. I can no longer bring out what is in me, so the other has to step into my inner world. By listening, being silent, holding the other, evoking a memory with a scent , with food.”
Elderly carer makes dementia negotiable in the theater: ‘I hate the D word’
