Research at Keele Discovering Excellence | Page 14

Professor Michael Murray Discovering Excellence | Ages and Stages Ages and Stages Professor Miriam Bernard, Professor Michael Murray, Dr Lucy Munro Ageing Creatively Collaboration between academia and the arts supports theatre as a medium for social inclusion The Ages and Stages project was a collaboration between Keele University and the New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme running from October 2009 to the end of July 2012. The project explored the Victoria Theatre’s famous social documentaries – produced between the 1960s and the 1990s – and talked to older people about what part the theatre has played in their lives. Miriam Bernard, Professor of Social Gerontology at Keele University, led the research team. “The location for this project was the Potteries. This is an area with a long history of heavy industry which has undergone considerable social and economic change and decline over the last forty years. These changes have been charted by many institutions, including the New Vic Theatre, through the pioneering social documentaries developed under its founding Director, the late Peter Cheeseman.” 13 The research team employed a mixed method approach organised around three interrelated and complementary strands. Strand 1 explored historical representations of ageing through analyses of materials held in the theatre’s archive; Strand 2 focused on recollections and contemporary experiences of ageing through 79 individual/couple qualitative interviews (97 people in total) and ten group interviews (51 people in total) with older people who were/are: (i) sources for the Vic’s social documentaries; (ii) theatre volunteers; (iii) audience members throughout their lives; (iv) actors and theatre employees who continue to live in the area. In addition, participant observation was carried out at the theatre, with current volunteers. Professor Bernard says: “Our project highlights the importance of challenging stereotypes that creativity declines/ceases in old age; it demonstrate how theatre/ drama can be developed as a medium for the inclusion of both older adults and young people; and shows how important participation and volunteering can be at times of transition/bereavement. In Strand 3 of the project, we drew together materials from Strands 1 and 2 to create a new social documentary performance – Our Age, Our Stage – bringing older participants from the project together with members of the New Vic’s Youth Theatre.” The new social documentary explores ageing, intergenerational relations and the role the theatre has played – and continues to play – in the creative life of the people of Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire. Our Age, Our Stage was performed in a number of local venues in July 2012, including schools, colleges, retirement communities and local councils. Q&A sessions with the cast, crew and research team followed each performance. The main performance took place in the New Vic Theatre, in association with the 2012 British Society of Gerontology (BSG) conference. Audience members included conference attendees, people who were interviewed for Ages and Stages, and invited guests. Alongside this, an ‘Ages and Stages Exhibition’ was displayed at the New Vic Theatre. Ages and Stages was funded by the national, cross-council New Dynamics of Ageing (NDA) programme, which aims to improve the quality of life of older people through research into all aspects of ageing.