‘Ages and Stages’ team members pay return visit to Canadian partners
Professor Miriam Bernard and Dr Lucy Munro, two members of Keele’s ‘Ages and Stages’ research team, have recently returned from a visit to their partner project at the University of Alberta, Edmonton. The ‘Ages and Stages’ project, funded under the multi-research council New Dynamics of Ageing (NDA) Programme, is researching the role that Stoke-on-Trent’s Victoria Theatre (now the New Vic Theatre) has played in the lives of older people living and working in the Potteries during the last forty years. The Canadian project is working with the ‘GeriActors and Friends’ intergenerational theatre company to explore how older adults’ participation in theatrical productions can enhance individual health outcomes.
During their visit, the teams held a series of research discussions about their projects and drew up plans for collaborative presentations and publications. Mim and Lucy also joined in the 3rd annual FEST (Festival of Edmonton Seniors Theatre), part of Edmonton’s annual ‘Creative Age Festival’. They attended a showcase of presentations and an evening celebration with performances from four different theatre groups, including the ‘GeriActors and Friends’. They also participated in Storytelling and Comedy Improvisation workshops and met with the ‘GeriActors and Friends’ company at their city centre base. Mim and Lucy were interviewed about their visit and the ‘Ages and Stages’ project for a documentary film being made about the whole ‘Creative Age’ Festival.
Pictured are (from left to right): Sherry Ann Chapman (Faculty of Extension, University of Alberta); Sally Chivers (Trent University); Janet Fast (PI)(Dept of Human Ecology, University of Alberta); Lucy Munro; David Barnet (Dept of Drama, University of Alberta); and Mim Bernard.
For further information about both projects, see