Bringing old and young together
IT’S not often you see 70-year-old men and women on trapeze and tightrope or a young woman juggling clubs with someone from her grandparents’ generation.
Skylight Circus Arts is presenting such an opportunity through Generations, an intergenerational performance, in Rochdale on April 27 and 28 and May 5.
Skylight’s innovative Silver Circus, where older people learn circus arts to improve their wellbeing, are merging their skills with the talented Youth Circus for this show.
They describe Generations as an ensemble ‘suitcase of stories,’ combining circus skills, drama, dance and music.
Martine Bradford, Skylight’s creative director, explained: “This is an exciting leap forward for Skylight Circus Arts and we are thrilled to have an opportunity to work with the wonderful Grania Pickard, an up and coming director, writer and performer who worked with the acclaimed Ockam’s Razor.
“There is a great spirit to the company - a jampacked cast of generations bursting with creativity and ideas.”
If you expect the younger performers to be more skilful than their less flexible elders, you may be surprised. As one Silver Circus performer Greta Green put it, ‘come and see MY Generation, we’re not going to fade away.’
Jess White, aged 16, confirmed how committed the Silver Circus performers are, saying ‘it’s really good working with old people. They’re skilful and really concentrate on what they do.’
For Generations director Grania Pickard it was the opportunity to make a show with such a diverse age range that attracted her to the project.
She said: “I believe circus can have a hugely positive impact on people’s physical and mental health.
“What makes this project unique is that it uses circus to bring together two groups of people who otherwise would never have met and pools their creativity and enthusiasm to make a show with a theme of common understanding.
“There have already been some incredibly beautiful and funny moments in rehearsal and, while I can’t give away too much about the show, I can promise that we’ll take you on a journey.”
Generations is a great example of how Skylight Circus Arts uses circus creatively for performance and to improve personal, physical and social development and wellbeing.
Generations can be seen at Skylight Studio Theatre, St Chad’s Fold, Sparrow Hill, Rochdale, on April 27 and 28 and at Touchstones, Rochdale, on May 5. Visit www. skylightcircusarts.com.