Overview

Women and Age on the UK Stage surveys representations of the figure of the old woman on stage, covering the experiences of aged women in the multiple realities of performance – as a character in drama, as the creator of postdramatic works and as a mature professional in live theatre. As well as glossing work on female age and ageing in Film, TV and Media Studies, Part I explores representations in live productions both of canonical plays and contemporary performance. It proposes the avoidance of the word ‘older,’ arguing for the term ‘aged’ as one that addresses a social model of ageing and examines how performances can produce age-effects upon members of the audience – especially aged women. In analysing work by several playwrights and female performers, it not only examines narrative, language and character but also focuses on the embodied, material, interrelational and proxemical aspects of live performance. It contends that avant-garde and postdramatic works can generate nuanced understandings of aged femininity, which both acknowledge and challenge the social restrictions placed upon old women. Part II consists of four interviews with prominent and not-so-prominent veteran female performers over the age of 60, giving long-ignored critical attention to the experience of navigating multiple performance situations in the latter years of a long life on the stage. This is an essential companion for anyone interested in the role of women in theatre and performance, as well as students of women's studies, gender studies, acting, and gerontology.

Full Product Details

9780367903282

Table of Contents

Reviews

‘This is a book vital in all senses – redressing a critical lack in scholarship, speaking to the most timely debates in theatre, performance and age studies, and sparkling with its author’s eloquence, acuity and insight. It wears its expertise lightly but uses it incisively, drawing on decades of theatre scholarship and practice, direct contact with influential artists, and immersion in age studies – as well as Moore’s own reflexive role as a theatre maker and spectator – to bring depth and richness to its investigation of age and femininity on stage, while remaining thoroughly readable and engaging.’ Professor Elizabeth Barry, University of Warwick, Professor of Modern Literature and President of the Samuel Beckett Society ‘This exciting and engaging exploration of “veteran” female performers is an invaluable contribution to the field of theatre, performance and age. Combining political commitment and scholarly rigour, the book brings together analysis of live performance with interviews with notable veteran female artists, who offer compelling and sometimes challenging insights into what it means to grow old as a live performer. Stimulating and astute, this is a vital and significant text for ageing studies.’ Dr Sarah Falcus, University of Cumbria, Member of Academic Advisory Board of European Network in Aging Studies and Co-Director of Dementia and Cultural Narrative Network.

Author Information

Bridie Moore is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Leeds, UK. A theatre maker, teacher and facilitator, she completed her AHRC-funded PhD at the University of Sheffield in 2018.

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