A CWMBRAN woman with dementia will be the guest of honour at a special screening of Mamma Mia, after a previous trip to a different cinema ended prematurely because others in the audience complained about her singing along to the film’s soundtrack.

Rhiannon Lewis said she felt obliged to take her mother, Shirley, out of the cinema, in Cwmbran, after people sitting behind them – unaware of her mother’s condition – began “huffing, puffing and tutting” as she sang along to her favourite ABBA songs.

They had been celebrating her mother's 68th birthday on July 22.

Ms Lewis said: “At the time I was empathetic to the other guests in the cinema, however on reflection I really wish I had told that lady so that she could have learnt her lesson in front of a room full of strangers.

“My mum was really sad. She didn’t want to leave the cinema.

“She yelled ‘no’ when we tried to get her out of her seat and she fought every step on the staircase.

“To the people in the cinema she probably looked drunk.

“She was angry for the rest of the day but due to her condition she couldn’t work out why.”

Ms Lewis wrote an angry Facebook post following the incident, writing she hoped the people who had become frustrated “never have to suffer this horrible disease and if [they did], that the general public will be more understanding than [they had] been”.

The post was shared widely, and drew the attention of the general manager of Cineworld in Newport to what had happened to Mrs Lewis at one of his competitors' sites.

In a kind-hearted gesture, he offered free tickets to her and her mother in a special area of his cinema for another viewing.

But Ms Lewis said her mum loved being around people, so she and the cinema’s manager arranged a special dementia-friendly viewing.

The special singalong to Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again will be held at Newport’s Cineworld in Friars Walk on August 19, at 3pm.

Tickets cost a discounted £7.50, and can be purchased from a Facebook page Ms Lewis has set up

Ms Lewis has pledged to donate any extra money raised to Alzheimer’s UK.

To buy tickets visit www.tinyurl.com/mammamiaforshirl for more details.