Invading Capitalist Ageism in Applied Theatre through Anti-Ageism Praxis

Abstract

This article highlights how in the UK ageism derives from invasive and pervasive capitalist practices, where our cultural understanding of ‘being old’ is driven by institutional exit from the labour market. The article explores how ageism has bled into applied theatre practices and problematizes the widespread use of reminiscence theatre as an ageist methodology, as it restricts older people’s experiences to the past. Issues of power between the facilitator and practitioner are also explored by questioning the exclusive nature of reviewing and editing older people’s personal recollections and who determines what memories have creative value. This article advocates that the field must now fracture away from reminiscence models and instead I propose an Anti-Ageism Praxis (AAP), which functions as a resistance against the invasion of capitalist informed ageism and oppressive ageist theatrical engagement. Instead, AAP places emphasis on shared power, co-collaboration, being present and creating theatre that is informed by real time moments, feelings and thoughts.

Notes

1 The responses to these open-ended questions can be used as the first sentence for a ‘free writing’ exercise, wherein participants are given a set period of time to continuously write, carrying on from their opening sentences. The task provides the group with fragments of text that can then be refined and developed in collaboration with the facilitator to form parts of a script/series of monologues that stem directly from the participants’ response to a historical artefact.

2 Identify with the group the key themes that have emerged from their responses to the historical item. For example, previously a group’s responses to seeing an image of the Suffragettes protesting sparked discussions regarding sexism (Author’s Reflective Journal 2021). This then inspired a collection of improvised scenes that examined sexism in 2021, which were later developed into a script.