Olive Tree Theatre in Alexandra pushes the boundaries of age

Age proved to be just a number at the Olive Tree Theatre when the inter-generational divide between the young and the old was bridged on stage in a fitting play, Young @Home.

Their oneness, through well-rehearsed and interconnected messaging and deportment, made the actors from their mid-teens to the 70s all look young at heart and in physique. It was a marvel watching the elderly from Tswelopele Frail Care Centre in the Hillbrow area blend in well with what could be their grandchildren, in the Hillbrow Theatre Project. Their passion on stage and ease of movement defied the usual association of age with immobility, often linked to debilitating age-related ailments.

The actors’ joint passion reflected the essence of interconnectivity, from the youths’ yearning for parental presence in shaping their lives and fending off adversity through joint parental support, to the pride parents and grannies derive when nurturing their offspring.

The director and award-winning actor, Gcebile Dlamini, said the play reflected personal stories and shared experiences of the often unspoken pain and emotional turmoil from the divisive effects of migration on both old and young, and enabled the elderly actors to reminisce and bring from their past, instructive moments as lessons to the young.

“It’s also important to get the elderly into open spaces as they still have much to offer the young generation through anecdotal and useful experiential advice to help them navigate through life’s challenges,” Dlamini stressed. Theatre, she added, was also a good therapeutic experience for both age groups – for both the actors and the audience which included schoolchildren and residents from a local old-age centre.

The play also featured at the Market Thearte Lab, South Rand Recreation Centre and the POPArt at Maboneng this month, and at the Drama For Life conference and the ASSITEJ World Congress and International Theatre Festival for Children and Young People in May.

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