GRANDMOTHER'S FOOTSTEPS

Grandmothers Footsteps (1994) was performed by The Good Companions older people's theatre group and the Age Exchange Youth Theatre. It was developed in 1994 by Illona Linthwaite and Pam Schweitzer, to mark the UN International Year of the Family. It was the first full collaboration between these two groups.

The older people (aged 65-80) shared memories of their grandparents and these stories were developed through improvisation by young and old together. For the young people it was a chance to experience what it was like to be young in the 1920s and 30s, and for the older people it was a chance to revisit treasured (and not-so-treasured) grandparents and reconnect with their own younger selves.

A documentary film was made following the show's 1994 tour to Germany, Belgium and France, supported by the European Commission. The company, supported by parents and volunteers, played in theatres, day centres and at conferences, travelling by plane, train and van across Europe. Performances were also given at an international conference on inter-generational work in Salzburg, Austria, though these are not shown in the film.

As part of the tour, Pam Schweitzer delivered a series of reminiscence workshops for professionals and an extract from one such session in Cologne is included in the film. A book was produced entitled 'Grandmother's Footsteps', supported by Help The Aged and the European Union, featuring all the stories from older people that had gone into the show.

We hope the film gives an accurate impression of the collaboration both on and off-stage.