Larissa Alzheimer’s Association is among the first registered civil society organisations to promote dementia awareness and care in Greece. Over the past decades, struggles and scarce private funding, volunteers have met repeatedly with local and national elected authorities. Few politicians have responded to the calls for action, facilitated dialogue or insisted upon implementation.
Actress Anna Vagena, a pioneer of the Municipal Theatre of Larissa and past member of the Hellenic Parliament, has not only been a witness and mediator of the enduring efforts of people living with dementia and their carers in Greece, but an ambassador as well. In 2025, she led an independent production, transforming her experience into the theatre play “Blurred memory”.
The plot is centred around a woman wandering in the streets of a city. Scared, on the run, away from an Alzheimer’s special care unit, and at the same time in search of shelter. Purportedly, a person with a failing memory and specific means and needs, different from those of a mute homeless refugee, a university professor, or of a student. Through flashbacks and intertwined moments, it is the acts of the woman living with dementia that reveal the truth and lead to catharsis and absolution.
Larissa Alzheimer’s Association members enjoyed the play while it was on tour and they express their gratitude to Anna Vagena. As script writer, director and protagonist, Anna reminded the audience of the importance of seeing the person, not the diagnosis. Blurred memory may be a life choice, but empathy and sympathy prevail.
