Why Telling Tales exists
Telling Tales is an oral history/theatre project that centres the voices of older people, empowering them to tell their own stories in a live performance in front of their families and communities.
Older people have amazing stories to share with their families and communities. Using oral history and theatre, Telling Tales gives our elders the opportunity to not only tell and record their stories but to present them in a unique theatrical event that celebrates their lives and experiences.
Empowering elders stories
Telling Tales is important for individuals and communities:
Positive Ageing
Respect and social inclusion
Arts and creativity
Community connections
Age-friendly communities
Building capacity
The rapidly ageing population has wide implications in Australia and other developed countries. Telling Tales translates into action many of the priority areas of the World Health Organisation's Age-Friendly Communities.
Research from both overseas and in Australia attest to the fact that the arts make a very positive contribution to healthy ageing, community connection and capacity building.
In 2013 Dr Vivienne Nicholson and Evelyn Krape presented Telling Tales at the Good Health and Wellbeing Annual International Arts and Health Conference in Sydney and at the Oral History International Conference in Adelaide.
“everybody has an incredible story to tell”
Cultural participation enhances the quality of our lives
Over three years Dr Elizabeth Brooke researched aged care settings in four countries (United States, Irish Republic, United Kingdom and Australia), investigating and participating in the case studies. The book analyses well-being outcomes for older adults engaging in creative arts in four arts forms: dance, visual arts, theatre and music-making. The mining and exploration of identities, empowerment and social connections were enhanced across these four arts forms.
The book explains Telling Tale’s underlying concepts and the processes through which older adults' personal stories are transformed into community-based theatre. It showcases Telling Tales as a unique Australian example of theatrical performance based on story telling drawn from reminiscence.
Book details: Creative Ageing and the Art of Care: Reframing Active Ageing, Elizabeth Brooke. Published in 2022 by Emerald Publishing Limited. https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com
Telling Tales:
is an innovative and engaging way of documenting and preserving older people’s stories for them, their family and friends, and the wider community;
reinforces research that suggests there is a central positive relationship between the arts and healthy ageing;
is an effective way for professionals and others to see people as individuals rather than medical or welfare models;
helps bridge the generation gap to stimulate positive attitudes to ageing, and
demonstrates that these people continue to live rich and rewarding lives and have important contributions to make, particularly in strengthening the connections within their communities.
