“Is Theatre Only for the Young?”: reflections on theatrical practices in senescence

Abstract

This article discusses artistic-pedagogical practices in the field of theatre de-signed for people aged 50 and over, questioning the limits imposed by the logic of bodily virtuosity that is often present in performing arts education. Departing from the provocative question, “Is theatre only for young people?”, the text presents two experience reports: a workshop conducted as part of a supervised curricular internship and another linked to a research project focused on memory. Both activities were carried out in extension contexts and had as their central aim the appreciation of participants’ bodies, stories, and subjectivities. The pedagogical actions were grounded in theatre games, improvisation, and auto-biographical narratives, fostering spaces of listening, creation, and belonging. The authors then discuss how improvisational practices and listening procedures may shape ways of teaching and making theatre that acknowledge the knowledge embodied in aging bodies. The article argues for the performative power of the aging body and the importance of sensitive, dialogical methodologies in theatre education, capable of recognizing the diversity of experiences as raw material for the stage.