Please support us so we can all go to Edinburgh Fringe 2024, and raise awareness of PARKINSON'S.

The Parky Players” was formed by myself (Janet Shipton) and my fellow PD sufferer Sheila North with a small group of others. We got together on Zoom during lockdown and wrote and recorded an online pantomime. This was developed further with Arts Council England funding and lead to us creating our first show for the stage called ‘Shake It Up’ including the original song ‘The Road’.

The Parky Players performed (with the support of Ingenious Fools, Rachel Green, Dan Webber, Charlotte Daniel) throughout 2022, with performances in Nottingham, Derby, Birmingham, Leicester Comedy Festival and at three shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023. We have also appeared on BBC Radio Nottingham, BBC Radio Derby and BBC regional news.

A trailer for the show can be seen here: https://youtu.be/1BOV_wAaSd0?si=UVwKn_Odnp-HExJd

We also won the World Parkinson’s Congress song competition, and our song ‘The Road’ was sung at the WPC opening ceremony in Barcelona on the 4th July 2023.

The choir singing our song (with me and my fellow Parky Player Chris on the front row) can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/Nu2bZx0ZFOg?si=Ba2eBbf9LvN-ARDW

Our video can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/OcoYz0wq3H4?si=23Juad9L0mAqIHpH

Due to the great success of this project, we are now looking to develop further innovative work that will educate and raise awareness of Parkinson’s. We would like to develop a new theatre project using creative writing and performance-based workshops. This will be done through the comedy, music, spoken word and visual arts. This will be led by professional facilitators, culminating in an hour long ‘Night at the Palladium’ style theatrical performance/ that will be toured around UK comedy festivals including the Edinburgh Fringe 2024.