A Hymn to Old Age - MUSIC, POETRY, PLAYBACK THEATRE - Newcastle

Name: A Hymn to Old Age - MUSIC, POETRY, PLAYBACK THEATRE - Newcastle
Start: 2026-07-02T19:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-07-02T21:45:00+01:00
Location: Quakers Meeting House, 1 West avenue, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE34ES

Schedule

Thu Jul 02 2026 at 07:00 pm to 09:45 pm

UTC+01:00

Location

Quakers Meeting House, 1 West avenue, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE34ES | Newcastle Upon Tyne, EN

A HYMN TO OLD AGE
Shunyata Improvisation Group - Alex Reed - Playback Theatre
An emotionally resonant live event responding to Herman Hesse’s writings on old age through poetry, music and playback theatre, exploring ideas and experiences of this life stage.
DATE:
2ND OF JULY 2026
TIME:
7pm to 9:45pm with an intermission
Doors 6:30pm.
VENUE:
The Quakers Meeting House,
1 West Ave
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE3 4ES
TICKET: £10 / person
Strictly No Alcohol in the venues, hot and cold soft drinks available
Buy tickets in advance to be sure of your seat.
More Information
The Hymn to Old Age Project is a series of live multi-disciplinary performances, which explores ideas about old age. We are using the holistic perspectives of Herman Hesse (writer 1877-1962) as a contrasting inspiration point to the pervasive divisive ideology of ageism:
Part 1: A performance of Alex Reed (spoken word) and the Shunyata Improvisation Group. The performance will meld the writings of Herman Hesse on old age (permission of use kindly granted by Pushkin Press) and Alex’s poetic response within live spontaneous music.
Intermission
Part 2: Playback Theatre North East will invite the audience to share stories about their personal experience of old age, and these will be played back by actors and musicians using spontaneous improvised drama and music.
Whose Who?
Herman Hesse
Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) made a widespread impact upon those alienated in modernity and seeking greater freedom and self-realisation. His major works were the novels
Siddhartha, Steppenwolf, Narziss and Goldmund and The Glass Bead Game. Hymn to Old Age is a selection of poetry, essays and stories, rich with moving personal reflections on accumulated experience and how it informs perspectives of the shared present moment. There are some standout writings in the collection that are moving, honest and lyrical. The work invites an acceptance of old age as a time of new possibility, where deep rich reflection can lead to a poignant appreciation of life and impermanence.
Alex Reed
Alex is a North East published poet with several works in print with V. Press, including: A Career in Accompaniment, These Nights at Home and knots, tangles, fankles, the latter a re-imagining of the work of radical psychiatrists R.D. Laing and A. Esterson on family life and ‘schizophrenia’. Alex has a wide experience of working in collaboration with other artists, performing with musicians and visual artists leading to mixed-media performances, the creation of CDs and print publications.
Playback Theatre
Playback Theatre is a form of improvisational theatre where audience members share personal stories, which are then immediately re-enacted by the performers. It is a collaborative process involving actors, musicians, the audience, and a conductor who helps to guide the storytelling and re-enactment. Playback Theatre aims to create a shared communal experience that builds social connection by exploring personal narratives through artistic performance.
Shunyata Improvisation Group (SIG)
SIG established in 2018, have developed an extraordinary style of musical improvisational language; intimate, distinct, quiet, acoustic, spacious, and entirely composed in the moment. Their concerts provide an immersive meditative experience, inspired by Zen aesthetic approaches to art. SIG have released six physical albums on independent labels, broadcasted on Radio 3, Tusk TV and Panic Radio France and have played at the following
renowned festivals; Tusk, Newcastle Festival for Jazz and improvised Music and the National Trust Festival of Bloom. SIG have a track record in co-producing multi-media projects.