For 3 months, older residents of the London Borough of Camden worked together to create a powerful new play, entitled ‘Act Your Age (Secret Identities)’.
The project was facilitated by Hampstead Theatre and funded by Camden Council for Age UK Camden, and culminated in an electrifying performance to a full house. We caught up with one of the group leaders and two of the participants to find out more.
“The big thing we wanted was to challenge an audience's stereotypes about ageing and of being an older person in the Camden borough,” says Martha, the writer who led the project. “It doesn't have to be that all their stories are about grandparents; they have wildly rich, vibrant lives.”
The big thing we wanted was to challenge an audience's stereotypes about ageing.
New beginnings
The group met every fortnight, with the goal of guiding the older participants to produce their first piece of creative writing. In their sessions, the group explored character, form and drafting, collaborating on exercises but with their own individual goal in mind.
“So much of what older people can get out of creative writing is the same as anyone can get from creative writing, which is the new sense of confidence,” explains Martha. “I think it’s really scary sometimes to plunge into the unknown – and that’s scary aged 7 or aged 77.”
Costas and Faye are both members of the writing group and say their participation has reignited a love of language and the arts. “We are very happy to be here, it’s a privilege,” says Costas. “I’m 84 now but when I’m here I feel like a teenager. This is the first time I’ve written this kind of thing. As a young boy I wrote in other languages, but I’ve never written a play in my life!”
Faye, 88, has always enjoyed theatre and credits her dad with instilling in her a love of books. “We’d happily spend time in a book shop together,” she remembers. “I think he’d be amused by this!”
Challenging stereotypes through creativity
The participants’ writing has taken many different forms – some have written poetry, others thrillers – and it’s this variety of creative expression that’s breaking down boundaries just as much as the age of its writers.
“I thought I didn’t have any stereotypes about older people, but you become surprised that you do,” admits Martha. “You're so constantly surprised about the wealth of creativity that is there and perhaps being ignored because it's not young, new and shiny in the way that art tends to love.”
Costas, who moved to the UK as a teenager hoping to become a morse code interpreter, chose to write about connections. “When I was a kid I saw in a magazine an advert for friend. Within a couple weeks I received my first letter and I was very excited. The memory came back to me and so I wrote a play about pen pals.”
Faye’s play is about her late husband. “We were married 56 years. I miss him like hell.” Speaking of how she comes up with her ideas, Faye says, “It just comes to me. I was with my daughter and all of a sudden I thought of something. I said, ‘Get me paper, I need to write something down!’”
It’s not just the older participants who have gained new insights through their writing. For Martha, running the group has been transformational. “It’s so rare that you have conversations in your life that make incremental change, and I feel like I have 5 of those conversations each session which is really beautiful,” she says. “It has made me consider how I haven't written a character older than 60. There is a whole part of life that I am not creatively looking at, so that’s going to change.”
I’m 84 now but when I’m here I feel like a teenager. As a young boy I wrote in other languages, but I’ve never written a play in my life!
Coming together to combat loneliness
Research has found Camden to be the loneliest place not just in London, but the entire UK. Togetherness has been at the heart of the project, and the group’s diversity is part of its strength.
“We have a real variety of people,” says Martha. “Some already knew each other, some didn't. We have a husband and wife who attend together, and we have new friends. What’s really lovely is that all of them live in Camden so there's that immediate connection with each other.”
When asked what makes the project so special, Faye replies: “I think it’s the coming together with a group of people who all live in the same community. I’ve also known this theatre since it was a shack on the main road, and have an enormous affinity to it.”
Costas agrees: “Let’s face it – if it wasn’t for the sessions, life is very shallow. Age UK Camden does other things – we go to the National Portrait Gallery, the British Library – but this is the top. It’s a once in a lifetime thing.
“A lot of people are lonely in London – especially in Camden – so these kinds of things are very important to get them together, away from problems and from feeling lonely and isolated.”
A cast of different perspectives
On 20 February 2025, ‘Act Your Age (Secret Identities)’ was performed live at Hampstead Theatre. Covering themes from joy and laughter through to loss, and mixing everyday encounters with magic and science-fiction, the play centres on the dreams that shape our lives and the myriad experiences that older people have to share.
Martha’s pride in the group is clear. “It’s amazing to have gone on that journey from ‘I've never written anything in my life’ to being about to have 7-ish minutes of theatre in front of an audience,” she says. “That’s exceptional.”
“The audience gets a really rich tapestry of different perspectives. Seeing them side by side is jaw-dropping, inspiring, and you’ll think ‘wow’ when you see what can be made when given room.”
Staying creative
Exploring your hobbies and finding fresh interests in later life can be a great way to have fun and meet new people.
