ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the relationship between late-life creativity and our understandings of cultural value. Drawing primarily on findings from two projects funded under the Arts and Humanities Research Council Cultural Value’ programme, we focus on what the existing literature tells us about theatre in later life; and on what we have learned through our own explicit – and methodologically innovative – arts-based approach to the evaluation of project participants’ experiences. The overarching Arts and Humanities Research Council ‘Cultural Value Project’ sought to make a major contribution to how we think about ‘the value associated with people’s engaging with and participating in art and culture’. Health and well-being: Many of the included studies were specifically designed to assess the benefits of theatre and drama to older people’s health and well-being.
