Mamma Mia: Special cinema screening for fan with dementia
Rhiannon LewisA cinema will hold a special screening of Mamma Mia after a fan with dementia was made to feel uncomfortable for singing along.
Rhiannon Lewis said she and her mum Shirley, 68, left Vue Cinema in Cwmbran mid-show after hearing tutting from the seats behind them.
After Ms Lewis put a post on Facebook about it, another cinema got in touch to offer them a private viewing.
"If my mum wants to sing, she can sing along," said Ms Lewis.
She said about a third of the way through the film her mother, who was celebrating her birthday, got excited and started shouting at the screen when she recognised a song.
"Mamma Mia is her absolute favourite thing - with her disease it's a familiar thing and it really calms her down," Ms Lewis said.
However, she added: "There was a lady sitting behind us with a young child and she was obviously interrupting her viewing.
"She just kept moving in her seat and huffing and puffing and making us feel very uncomfortable.
"We had no choice but to feel like we had to leave."
"To anyone in the cinema, it probably looked like she [her mother] was drunk," Ms Lewis added.
She was later contacted by a manager at Cineworld in Newport offering free tickets to a private viewing of the show.
"If someone wants to get up and dance, that is absolutely fine as well," added Ms Lewis.
The film will be shown at Cineworld, Friar's Walk, Newport, at 15:00 BST on 19 August.