Kick Off With a Verse
- Jan 5
- 3 min read
By Harriet Joyce
Kick Off With a Verse, which takes place in Finsbury Park’s Park Theatre, is a weekly 90-minute session supporting unpaid carers of dementia in writing poetry and verse. Kick Off With a Verse runs in parallel with Together in Time, lead by Gareth John, Park Theatre’s singing group for those caring or living with dementia. Both groups take place in tandem, giving those in care partnerships the choice between which session they would like to partake in. It also provides carers with provision for their partners if they require.
Karin De Novellis first formed the idea for a support group where, “poetry could be used as a springboard for conversation,” during readings from her poetry collection Closing Time at the King’s Head. This discusses the experiences of dementia through the eyes of the individual in receipt of the diagnosis and those caring for the individual. Around two years ago, she began hosting online sessions as a confidential space for unpaid carers and while her background in counselling, wellbeing and writing helped facilitate the sessions, De Novellis makes it clear “it is not a therapy session,” nor is it “a course in creative writing.” Instead Novellis wants to put emphasis on “making marks rather than writing,” a process which became a lot more plausible once sessions started to take place in person. Engaging with poetry readings and writing prompts online, meant carers dove straight into conversation, as they instantly began to create pieces of free writing, later forming into a collaborative piece.
However, once Carys Thomas, Creative Engagement Manager at Park Theatre identified the gap in dementia-friendly activities specifically for carers, sessions began to take place in-person. Karin De Novellis praises Carys “as an amazing help in creating a safe physical, emotional space, as not only does this make taking risks easier but physical wellbeing practices relieve the weight of the burden carers are already constantly carrying on their backs.”
Kick Off With a Verse also encourages carers to stay behind and connect with each other after sessions which provides “alternative ways for people to connect with creative arts and theatre other than simply attending shows.” According to Carys. Karin De Novellis explains how “the act of finding even one word to describe an experience and sharing it with others is self-affirming,” and contributions from those who had produced only one phrase had become instrumental within the piece Gareth John chose to put to music. De Novellis described this as a “validating” experience, explaining how “marrying one to another helped the carers create something tangible and outside of themselves, so they no longer have to hold it all inside.”
Since adapting the material for a session facilitated at Barnet Library, De Novellis has also seen possible potential to encourage conversation between different groups. These include groups such as young people who could express themselves through different forms of writing such as rap. While De Novellis may have handed the sessions at Park Theatre over to a colleague, her handbook full of activities, which can be run across 30 free sessions, makes sure anyone who may have less knowledge in psychology or experience in facilitating groups can still pursue their interest in leading sessions.
The rest of the last 18 months have been spent encouraging those who ‘can’t write’ to continue contributing towards the conversation as, “honouring somebody’s feelings helps a person share their experiences and acknowledges different voices.” De Novellis has also continued networking UK-wide with dementia support organisations, professionals in the field, residential care homes and unpaid carers themselves, to spread the word about the opportunity for unpaid carers and former carers adjusting across the UK to partake in two free weekly sessions running from January 2026 through until the summer.
Written by Harriet Joyce. Published 05 January 2026.
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