We record the memories of care home residents & use these to create scripts which develop into original professional theatre productions.
That Theatre Group produces work with and for older people living in care.
We provide meaningful therapeutic engagement for people living with dementia, and encourage older people not only to share their much-loved memories with us, but also to reflect on the present day and communicate their hopes and dreams for the future.
Residents often provide words of wisdom to younger generations which are included in our shows.
Our Background
Established by Peter Ward in October 2024 as a Community Interest Company, the work builds on the two shows he conceived and produced for Nwoko Arts CIC - Spring into Summer and Songs for Europe.
He is known for his work as Director/CEO of Hope Street Limited, a cultural institution which developed emerging artists during its 30 years until 2018,by creating indoor, outdoor and site specific performance. Hundreds of alumni established their own companies there, including Tmesis, 20 Stories High and Wake the Beast, whilst thousands of others secured employment in cultural organisations around the world.
He founded the Creative Organisations of Liverpool (COoL) in 2007, leading it for its first seven years. The collective provides a voice for the small/medium arts sector in Liverpool.
The inspiration for setting up That Theatre Group was during the pandemic when he saw the conditions faced by care homes and the loneliness experienced by older people, who continued to be isolated long after the rest of us were free to go back to ‘normal’.
His first hand experience of loved one, Graeme Phillips, living in care from 2020, provided the fuel to do something to bring some joy to older people and to remind them that they’d not been forgotten.
In May 2024 That Theatre Group produced Graeme’s revival of ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’ by Samuel Beckett, of which he says, “I wanted bring my experience of isolation, reflection and living with Parkinson’s Disease & Lewy Body Dementia to the text.” He is known to many as Artistic Director of Liverpool’s Unity Theatre (1982-2015).
