The play's the thing in which to bridge the generation gap

By Jayne Warren - 20/08/2007

A drama project called 'Acting Up' in London is trying to open up lines of communication between generations. It involves schoolchildren as young as 12 and older residents aged up to 86 and is attempting to bring insights and greater understanding about behaviour - as well as overcoming misconceptions and stereotypes about crime.

Funded by the Community Safety Team, organised by charity Sixty Plus, run by drama group Theatre ADAD, and with help by local police community support officers, the play has proved to be a huge success for the third year running. The cast, made up of 15 Holland Park School students aged 12 to 17 and older residents, spent the previous three weeks working together to come up with their own characters and a plot. The ideas were then developed into a play based on their real-life experiences.

During workshops the young people questioned the older people about their own behaviour when they were younger, and found lots of striking similarities and parallels.  Cllr Warwick Lightfoot, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, said: “This has been a great opportunity for our older and younger residents to meet, work, have fun together and reassess their attitudes to each other. It helped break down barriers between generations and encourages people to focus on the positive contributions that all age groups make to our community.”

The plot of Acting Up III involved a quest by three characters and revolved around a modern take on several fairy tales with stories such as Goldilocks, Rumpelstiltskin, Alice in Wonderland, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, being turned into contemporary scenarios with new characters such as The Three Hoodies.

Six members of last year’s performance were invited to Clarence House in March 2007 to meet HRH The Prince of Wales after word spread about the successful project, and Sheila Benson, 70, from Ladbroke Road, who has participated in all three performances, met Prince Charles.

She said: “It’s a great project - we have a real laugh and it also helps to bring young and old together. The older people are reminded about how we wanted to be noticed and would sometimes show off when we were young, which helps us see youngsters in a new light. You can see each generation warm to the other as the days go by and afterwards when I’ve bumped into some youngsters in the street they’ve stopped to say hello.”

The project can be rolled out into other areas of the UK. For more information, contact Ben Long on 020 8969 9105 or blong@sixtyplus.org.uk.