{"id":756,"date":"2019-12-04T17:29:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T17:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/?p=756"},"modified":"2023-03-15T11:39:46","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T11:39:46","slug":"a-note-from-the-guest-editors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/a-note-from-the-guest-editors\/","title":{"rendered":"A Note from the Guest Editors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Manabu Noda<\/strong>*<\/a> and Yun Cheol Kim<\/strong>**<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nworld is ageing\u2212and fast. According to the United Nations, already one in\neleven of the world population is over 65, and by 2050 the rate will be one in\nsix. The 65+ age band outnumbered children under\nfive years of age for the first time in 2018, and those aged 80 years or over\nis projected to triple between 2019 and 2050.[1]<\/sup><\/a>\nSouth Korea has the largest percentage-point increase in the share of 65+\npersons between 2019 and 2050, while Japan is by far at the top of the list of\nold-age dependency ratio, i.e. the number of old-age dependents (persons aged\n65 years or over) per 100 persons of working age (aged 20 to 64 years) in 2019\nwith its staggering 51, followed by Finland\u2019s and Italy\u2019s 31.  It is estimated that Japan\u2019s figure will shoot\nto 81 in 2050, with South Korea\u2019s 79 as its closest second.[2]<\/sup><\/a>\nPopulation ageing will evidently put increased financial pressure on old-age\nsupport systems, but the UN stresses that this \u201cdoes not lead inevitably to\nmacroeconomic decline\u2014with well-chosen policies, just the opposite may be\ntrue.\u201d[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nextremely rapid aging around the world demands new perspectives on our\npolitical, social, cultural, and artistic life. The nine articles in the Special\nTopic section discuss various aspects of Ageism\nand\/in Theatre <\/em>as manifested in seven different parts of the world with\nreference to the performances\u2019 demographical, sociological, or psychological\nimplications in the ageing world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three articles from South Korea and Japan reflect the keen awareness of the issues in the most rapidly ageing countries. The topics include performances by the elderly, age and ageism in dramatic writings, age as metaphor of national identity, the use of reminiscence drama in drama therapy, etc. Notably, four articles discuss dance, showing how physicality is deeply intertwined with ageing and ageism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
Endnotes<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/sup><\/a>United Nations, Global Issues, Ageing<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/sup><\/a>United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Population Ageing 2019: Highlights<\/a><\/em> (ST\/ESA\/SER.A\/430), pp. 8, 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/sup><\/a>United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Population Ageing 2019: Highlights<\/a><\/em> (ST\/ESA\/SER.A\/430), p. 2. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n\"\"
 \n\n\n\n

*<\/a>Manabu Noda<\/strong> is Professor at Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan. As a theatre critic and researcher, he has written on British and Japanese theatre, acting and theatre history. He is currently editor in chief of the Theatre Arts (IATC Japan) and on the editorial board of Critical Stages (IATC). His English publications include \u201cImmersion as the Inscription of Theatre-Maker’s Reading: Complicite, The Encounter,\u201d in Contemporary Drama and Performative Space: From Playwriting to Immersive Theatre (2018); \u201cTrying to Give Shape to an Unending End: Post-3\/11 Theatre in Tokyo,\u201d Critical Stages 6 (2012); \u201cFrom Articulation to Synthesis: Stage Passions from the Eighteenth to Early Nineteenth Centuries in England,\u201d in Auff\u00fchrungsdiskurse im 18. Jahrhundert (2011); and \u201cThe Body Ill at Ease in Post-War Japanese Theatre,\u201d New Theatre Quarterly, 23:3 (2007). <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\"\"
 \n\n\n\n

**<\/a>Yun-Cheol Kim<\/strong> obtained his PhD from BYU with his dissertation on contemporary American Drama. He served as President of the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC) from 2008 till 2014. During his presidency he launched IATC\u2019s journal Critical Stages<\/em> in 2009. Now he is an honorary president of the Association. He served as artistic director of the National Theatre Company of Korea for four years (from the beginning of 2014 till the end of 2017). He retired from the School of Drama, Korean National University of the Arts in 2015, where he taught for twenty years. He is now its honorary professor. He received the Cultural Order from the Korean government in 2008. Two-time winner of the \u201cCritic of the Year Award,\u201d he has published twelve books, two of which are anthologies of theatre reviews.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":757,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-special-topic"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/12\/ST-Editors.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":517,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/creating-dance-with-elders-and-how-to-see-it-company-of-elders-in-the-festival-of-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":756,"position":0},"title":"Creating Dance with Elders, and How to See It: Company of Elders in the World Gold Theatre Festival","author":"Manabu Noda and Yun Cheol Kim","date":"December 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Katsuhiko Sakaguchi* Abstract The Company of Elders, produced by Sadler\u2019s Wells Theatre (U.K.), was invited by Saitama Arts Theatre (Japan) in 2018 as a model for dance companies which feature elderly performers. The article discusses how the triple bill by the company strived to explore the possibilities of creating dance\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Special Topic"","block_context":{"text":"Special Topic","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/category\/special-topic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/12\/image3-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/12\/image3-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/12\/image3-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/12\/image3-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":91,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/age-on-stage\/","url_meta":{"origin":756,"position":1},"title":"Age on Stage","author":"Manabu Noda and Yun Cheol Kim","date":"October 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Nancy Westman* Abstract Age on Stage started in Sweden in 2015, in order to allow mature professional dance artists to carry on their careers for as long as they wish. Charlotta \u00d6fverholm is the woman behind the project. She and Age on Stage are now joining forces, in Sweden as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Special Topic"","block_context":{"text":"Special Topic","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/category\/special-topic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image1-2.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image1-2.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image1-2.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image1-2.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":113,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/to-become-merged-in-the-sea-or-on-old-women-on-stage\/","url_meta":{"origin":756,"position":2},"title":"To Become Merged in the Sea . . . or On Old Women on Stage","author":"Manabu Noda and Yun Cheol Kim","date":"October 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Soila Lehtonen* Abstract Portrayals of old people on stage can be surprisingly stereotyped and dated. At what age does one become \u201cold\u201d nowadays? Does ageing increase wisdom or fear of death? The Swedish sociologist Lars Tornstam coined the term \u201cgerotranscendence\u201d: old age is \u201ca natural progression towards maturation and wisdom.\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Special Topic"","block_context":{"text":"Special Topic","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/category\/special-topic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image2-3.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image2-3.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image2-3.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image2-3.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":225,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/age-and-politics-in-early-american-drama\/","url_meta":{"origin":756,"position":3},"title":"Age and Politics in Early American Drama","author":"Manabu Noda and Yun Cheol Kim","date":"October 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Zoe Detsi* Abstract This paper seeks to explore how age as a determining category of identity was represented on the American stage in the years following the American Revolution. By bringing early American drama\u2014a field largely neglected in itself\u2014into the discussion of performance and age studies, this paper examines age\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Special Topic"","block_context":{"text":"Special Topic","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/category\/special-topic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image2-8.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image2-8.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image2-8.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image2-8.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":79,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/reminiscence-drama-in-an-ageing-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":756,"position":4},"title":"Reminiscence Drama in an Ageing World","author":"Manabu Noda and Yun Cheol Kim","date":"October 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Katerina Kosti* Abstract Today the world\u2019s population is ageing, due to both an ongoing decline in fertility and an accompanying increase in longevity. This poses a myriad of challenges for the elderly, most notably the creative use of leisure time. In this context, drama has the potential to promote a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Special Topic"","block_context":{"text":"Special Topic","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/category\/special-topic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image3-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image3-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image3-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/image3-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":221,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/dance-and-age\/","url_meta":{"origin":756,"position":5},"title":"Dance and Age","author":"Manabu Noda and Yun Cheol Kim","date":"October 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Margareta S\u00f6renson* Abstract Dancers \u201cdie\u201d young. This is what most people think, and if the reference is classical ballet, it might be the case. Yet, the examples of Ohno, Manning, Ek, Fonteyn, Bausch show quite the opposite:\u00a0that there is still life for a dancer who is no longer young. This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Special Topic"","block_context":{"text":"Special Topic","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/category\/special-topic\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/featured.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/featured.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/featured.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2019\/10\/featured.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=756"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1235,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756\/revisions\/1235"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}