‘‘The play’s the thing’’: theatre as a scholarly meeting ground in age studies

Addressing three current critical turns in gerontology, this article proposes the theatre as a fertile ground for various theoretical angles in age studies including the performative on and off stage, the narrative in the script and the critical questioning of age and ageism in the multiple realities of performance. Beginning from a shared site in the theatre, researchers may be able to establish greater common ground, resulting not only in multi-disciplinary efforts but also in truly interdisciplinary work. With a foundation in performance studies, this article suggests promising directions for age studies and theatre scholarship by examining three aspects of theatrical production: a play script, Jan de Hartog’s popular The Fourposter (1951); a collaborative development of a script and production, Jeanette Mathewes Stevens’ 2010 senior drama ElderSpeak; and a performance, a 2011 song-and-dance revue staged by an established senior theatre troupe, the Sarasota Senior Theater.