GUEST POST: The Origins of Każin 60+ by Charlotte Stafrace

With average life expectancy for a 65-year-old today at nearly 20 additional years , people are living well into their 80s and beyond. Many will remain active and healthy.

Whilst physical flexibility does diminish with age, practical knowledge and wisdom are likely to increase. Older adults are individuals with experiences of living and ageing influenced by many factors.

Older adults not only possess an enhanced ability to navigate the important challenges of social life, but they can contribute significantly to the social and cultural realm by sharing their role in culture and also providing stories.

Throughout the ageing process, the arts can play a vital role. Participation in the arts stimulates the senses, enlivens individuals mentally and emotionally and promotes physical and cognitive health. The arts provide opportunities for healing, self-expression and learning amid physiological, cognitive and social losses. The arts not only help maintain and form social bonds that inspire creativity but can also aid in health and well-being as well as provide a safe space for learning.

Thus, Kazin 60+ was born. In collaboration with the Active Ageing Department, Teatru Malta has provided a space where in the space of a year, older adults aged 60+ can meet on a bi-monthly basis to take part in theatre sessions. The main aim of these sessions is to inspire creativity, hone existing drama and theatre skills, offer participants new tools in order to become better actors and hark back to a time of play in order to give older adults the opportunity to have fun on a social level. 

Run by a seasoned theatre practitioner, Charlotte Stafrace (Grech), Każin 60+ brings together a group of fun creatives from all walks of life. The participants learn improvisation skills and games relating to theatre genres, improve their vocal techniques, are encouraged to write poems/monologues, read through texts, move around in order to find a new lightness and share their life experiences through stories in a spirit of fun.

The parallel benefits of such a creative programme cannot be dismissed. Researchers in ageing say that the brain has plasticity and develops continually in response to experiences and learning as long as it receives proper stimulation. Każin 60+, Teatru Malta’s brainchild, aims to do just that.

From the first moment that this lively group walked into their audition back in September 2021 to the present time, we have already witnessed a sense of growth and desire for further self-expression, enhanced by the social aspects of Każin 60+. Moreover, this programme is encouraging and challenging older adults to get involved not just as viewers or audience members, but also as creators. Creativity matters.