Women and Age on the UK Stage : Performing Aged Femininities

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.