Real Stories, Real Lives: Harrogate Residents Take Centre Stage This June In Sinfonia: Stories From Harrogate

Harrogate residents are stepping into the spotlight this June as local people aged 60 and over take to the stage in a new production built from their own memories, experiences and stories. Sinfonia: Stories from Harrogate, presented by The Performance Ensemble at Harrogate Theatre from 25–27 June, offers a portrait of later life that is warm, surprising and deeply human.

The Performance Ensemble has built a national reputation for creating work with older people that is direct, unsentimental and full of honesty. Music and movement run through the production, but it is the performers themselves who leave the lasting impression. Their voices, memories and personalities create something rooted unmistakably in Harrogate and in the lives lived here.

Artistic Director Alan Lyddiard said: "There is a culture that talks about ageing, but older people are very rarely listened to. Too often people decide what is good for them or reduce them to stereotypes. We’re doing something simpler. We’re creating space for people to speak for themselves and recognising that what they say matters."

The Harrogate edition of Sinfonia is being created now, through a series of conversations with local residents aged 60 and over. These meetings are already underway across April and May, and the company is keen to hear from more people in Harrogate and the surrounding area who might like to be part of the process.

For some, it begins with a conversation over tea. For others, it becomes something more: an opportunity to step onto a stage and discover that ordinary lives can hold extraordinary stories. Previous versions of Sinfonia have received widespread critical acclaim.

Dress Rehersal

Sinfonia: Stories from Harrogate
Dates: 25–27 June at 7.30 pm & 2.30pm on 27 June.
Venue: Harrogate Theatre
Click here to book