Late stage : theatrical perspectives on age and aging / edited by Benjamin Gillespie and Cindy Rosenthal, with Elinor Fuchs.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Gillespie, Benjamin, editor.

Rosenthal, Cindy, 1954- editor.

Fuchs, Elinor, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Theater and older people.

Old age in literature.

Aging in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : (illustrations)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Theatrical perspectives on age and aging

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, 2026.

Summary:

Late Stage: Theatrical Perspectives on Age and Aging represents the first comprehensive anthology to critically interrogate the intersection of age studies with theater and performance studies. Undoing the notion of a singular, continuous self as we age--an assumption that negatively positions old age in opposition to youth--this volume challenges biological imperatives imposed by essentialist views of aging. Late Stage reconceptualizes age as an additional dimension of identity constituted through the sociocultural systems that shape the material body over time. The collection portrays aging as a dynamic and evolving process, countering ageist narratives of decline and stereotypes that homogenize later life as a fixed, undesirable state. By exploring themes such as intergenerational dialogue, elder sexualities, late style, casting practices, age-related caregiving, and artistic longevity, contributors reposition later life into complex narratives that resist normative age scripts. Drawing on gender studies, queer and feminist theory, and disability studies, the collection bridges performance analysis with theoretical frameworks and collectively addresses how aging is experienced, represented, and resisted across time and cultures. Late Stage explores key works by canonical and contemporary figures such as Anton Chekhov, Henrik Ibsen, Caryl Churchill, Clare Barron, Naomi Iizuka, Tracy Letts, David Lindsay-Abaire, Judith Malina, Robbie McCauley, Florian Zeller, and Peggy Shaw. With its innovative approach, Late Stage serves not only as a critical text for courses on performance and age, but as a call to action for expanding conversations around age in theater and society.

Contents:

List of Figures - Acknowledgements - Foreword

Introduction: time she stopped / Benjamin Gillespie and Cindy Rosenthal

Part I. Dramaturgies of Aging and Late Style

1. a. Estragement: Towards an "Age Theory" Theatre Criticism

b. Rehearsing Age / Elinor Fuchs

2. Aging and the Time of Estragement in Chekhov's Drama / Yana Meerzon

3. Pathologizing Aging Femininity: The Mad Older Woman in Tracy Letts' August: Osage County and Florian Zeller's The Mother / Nuria Casado-Gual and Inesa Schevchenko-Hotsuliak

4. Caryl Churchill's Late Style / R. Darren Gobert

Part II. (Re)Casting Age

5. Age-conscious Casting: Comedy and the Middle-Aged Ingenue / Valerie Barnes Lipscomb

6. Differential Ageism: Aging and Asian American Identity in Out of Time / Dorothy Chansky

7. Haunted by the Specters of What They Will Become: St(age) Directions and the Default Body / Bess Rowen

8. Aging from Queer and Trans Perspectives: laGeste's Gardenia-10 Years Later (2021) / Heunjung Lee

Part III. Autobiography and the Aging Body/Self

9. "The Triumph of Time": Utopic Visions of Judith Malina's Late Performances / Cindy Rosenthal

10. I Feel Memories in My Body More Than Ever / Robbie McCauley and Daniel Alexander Jones

11. Rehearsing for Revolution: Autobiographical Performance Arouses Utopian Performativity in Sonic Elder / Julia Henderson

12. Queering Age and Memory/Loss in Peggy Shaw's Ruff / Benjamin Gillespie

Part IV. Time, Empathy, and Care

13. The Melody of Aging: Interview with Bonnie Marranca / Hillary Miller

14. Age Simulation: The Ultimate Dress Rehearsal / Scott Magelssen

15. Bringing Down the Curtain: Robotic Animals and Technologies of Aging / Jennifer Parker-Starbuck

16. At this Time (Or My Friend Elinor) / Anne Davis Basting.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on information from the publisher.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

0-472-90573-2