The 90 Plus Group: Theatre Against Ageism
We’re a group of theatre people using our skills to challenge ageist attitudes. We came together as an informal group for the premiere of my play, The Secret Lives of Extremely Old People. We were behind the first production at Circa Theatre, Wellington (New Zealand) at the end of 2023. Now we meet for solidarity and inspiration, and we’re all doing our own things. Individually and in other groups we dance, sing, we play music, read poems and perform in multiple ways. As theatre people we are never just uttering words or playing notes: we put our whole hearts into what we do. My podcast, Learning How To Be Old, is a kind of micro-indie theatre. And we encourage others of any age to do the same.
We call ourselves the 90 Plus Group because we’re looking at life in old age, even after the age of 90, not as something too scary to even think about but as another interesting stage in life. In the process of aging we are transformed, just as we were transformed by puberty, by parenting, by menopause. We are obliged to keep learning and we have different opportunities, losses, griefs and joys.
We’re not spring chickens, and I’m the oldest, being born in 1940.
We play, we don’t preach
You might catch us giving presentations at conferences but our way is to entertain, not to preach. Changing ageist attitudes is not easy, because half the people in the world hold moderately or severely ageist attitudes, according a huge multinational study by the United Nations. (Ageism is a global challenge: UN.) And much of our toxic ageism is directed towards ourselves.
Ageism is dangerous, and should be made obsolete. So as old people we can help by being visibly engaged in the world, by valuing what we do, by normalising the kinds of old age that are useful, fun, and truly alive.
Look at us and know
old age has many faces.
Let's keep our options open.
A popular play about an unpopular topic: why?
The success of The Secret Lives of Extremely Old People took me by surprise. I’ve got my own opinion about why people flocked to a play about a most unpopular topic: extreme old age. Do you?
Let us now praise donors and sponsors of the arts
Never again will I overlook the sponsors’ logos in a theatre programme. I have learned just how much passion and tricky work they represent. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all our helpers, in 2023 and since then!
Meet the 90 Plus Group
Meet our core team. Rich in professional experience, unflinching in our desire to challenge the stereotyping of old people.
The Secret Lives of Extremely Old People: the play
About this play, which first went onstage in November 2023.
A vox pop poll on being extremely old
What would you say if you were asked to imagine yourself at 95?
Courage in old age: why are nonagenarians like the mighty tecomanthe speciosa?
Read on! Multiple reasons, especially their longevity and courage in old age.
Older dancers bring depth to a work about grief
Yes: older dancers have as many advantages as disadvantages. Hard to believe? Watch a short video about a work revived after 16 years: Requiem, music by Karl Jenkins, danced by Crows Feet dancers.
Dandelion clock and old age: our logo
Why choose a dandelion clock as a symbol for old age? We have ideas but we want yours too.
Here’s where you chose a title for this play
I asked you for a tagline but you favoured The Secret Lives of Extremely Old People so emphatically that I changed the title. See? Crowd-sourcing in action. Thanks again! To think I nearly called it 90 Plus Now — how boring, how obscure!
Follow Write Into Life