I don’t belong here
a play written & performed by Joëlle Rabu – PREMIERING 2025

“I Don’t Belong Here” is a powerful play with music that takes audiences on a journey through a day in a dementia care facility. Award-winning singer-actor, Joëlle Rabu, delivers a powerful performance, embodying the perspectives of residents, care aids, and family members alike, revealing the raw emotions of grief, frustration, sadness, and unexpected humour that define their lives. The play, enriched by the poignant lyrics and beautiful melodies of the late, great songwriter Harry Nilsson, and Nico Rhodes’ evocative musical arrangements, offers a deeply human and imaginative exploration of dementia, capturing profound moments of connection and disconnection.

This minimalist-styled stage production (for small or larger stages) features a carefully woven sequence of musical vignettes that bring to life the stories of residents such as Stanley, desperate to escape; Bess and Louise long-time friends unknowingly reunited in the residence; Jim who day after day patiently waits by the door for his late wife to return; Liam, who while visiting his sleeping grandmother confesses his life’s challenges; Ruth who reluctantly moves into the residence brought in by her guilt-ridden daughter who is no longer able to care for her, to the psychological burden Care Aids experience as they become the keeper of memories. Through these characters, the play weaves moments of vulnerability adding flashes of levity which reflect the sometimes-challenging absurdities of the aging mind, all the while reminding us of our shared humanity and the enduring beauty in life’s greatest challenges.

Written by Joëlle Rabu and Kelly Wyatt, Nico Rhodes, Artistic Director.

Joëlle Rabu
Concept creator, Co-author, Actor, Singer

Kelly Wyatt
Co-author, Actor, Singer

Nico Rhodes
Music Director, Arranger,
Artistic Direction

I don’t belong here – biographies

Read: I don't belong here - a word from the author

Joëlle Rabu
Concept creator, Co-author, Actor, Singer

Kelly Wyatt
Co-author, Actor, Singer

Nico Rhodes
Music Director, Arranger, Artistic Direction

I don’t belong here – biographies

Read: I don't belong here - a word from the author

Why a play about Dementia?
a word from the author

Despite my personal intrigue and foundational knowledge from studies in social psychology, I found that delving into the creation of a play about dementia released a new realm of understanding, empathy and curiosity.

Drawing from a tapestry of personal encounters with dementia, I embarked on the journey of shaping a play that delves deep into the complexities of this debilitating disease. I wanted to communicate, through the tempered cadence of music and the poetry of song, a testament to the human spirits who are navigating through the shadows of forgetfulness and to present it from all perspectives: the resident, the family, the care aids.

Inspired by the onset of dementia in my father, the poignant conversations with one of my oldest friends afflicted by Alzheimer’s and the profound experiences recounted by my son who worked at a residence for people with dementia, during the pandemic, I sought to weave together a musical narrative that captures the essence of loss, resilience, humour, courage, confusion, outrage and strength. At times, these conditions make you laugh, at times they make you weep.

Dementia doesn’t discriminate in its companions; much like deep sorrow and overwhelming joy, it envelops everyone, inviting them to join its intricate dance and prompting introspection that challenges preconceptions about oneself and others.

The choice for the title was based on the most heard sentence in dementia residences “I don’t belong here”.

Data shows global dementia cases are set to triple, with 153 million living with dementia by 2050.

“We do not remember days, we remember moments.” Italian poet Cesare Pavese