The place of theatre in representations of ageing

Ages and Stages: creative participatory research with older people

“…We now turn our attention to the creative context against which our Cultural Value project was developed, providing a broad-brush picture of the original Ages and Stages project and the work that has followed from it. For the very first Ages and Stages project , we brought together a large interdisciplinary research team with backgrounds in social gerontology, cultural theory and history, social and health psychology, social anthropology and theatre studies (Bernard et al, 2017). Together, we set out to examine historical representations of ageing within the New Vic's ground-breaking documentaries and docu-dramas (produced between 1964 and 1995) and to explore the recollections and experiences of older people who are, or had been, involved with the theatre in different ways.…”

“…Here, we describe the design and conduct of this project; discuss how the research findings were turned into performance; and reflect on the challenges of working in these creative and collaborative ways. In doing so, we show how our approach and findings add to earlier Ages and Stages work that has already highlighted the benefits of theatre engagement for older people in terms of: enhancing identity, belonging, well-being, self-esteem and self-confidence; challenging deficit, negative and stereotypical views of ageing and late-life creativity; promoting dialogue between, and facilitating the inclusion of, both older and younger people; building supportive social networks, trust and reciprocity; extending skills, widening horizons and challenging capabilities; and supporting involvement during times of transition such as retirement and widowhood Bernard and Rickett, 2016;Bernard et al, 2017). We would contend that outcomes such as these resonate strongly with the central ideas in this book around promoting resilience in later life (Centre for Policy on Ageing, 2014), demonstrating the value of applied and socially engaged theatre practice at both individual and group levels (McCormick, 2017).…”