Dears’ Diaries is a series spotlighting the voices behind We’ll Take It From Here, Dear – our bold new theatre piece exploring the quiet ways older women are patronised, underestimated and stripped of agency.
Through conversations with Moving Memory’s core performance company, we’re sharing reflections on ageing, creativity, power and the process of creating this urgent new work together.
Dears’ Diaries: Miranda
Before she joined Moving Memory, Miranda was already a fan. Years ago, she watched Cracking the Crinoline at the Turner Contemporary and remembers being “absolutely gobsmacked” by what she saw.
“I remember these women coming right out towards the audience. I remember the costumes, the movement, the sea behind them. I just thought it was wonderful.”
At the time, she never imagined she would one day be performing with the company herself. Then, years later, Miranda joined Moving Memory during lockdown after her daughter suggested she try one of the organisation’s online sessions: “I did one, then another, then another.”
Not long afterwards, she became an apprentice with the company and performed in Busting Trifles – her first Moving Memory production.
Now part of the core company creating We’ll Take It From Here, Dear, Miranda describes the process as a rare opportunity to create work collectively, where everyone’s experiences, ideas and perspectives help shape the final piece.
“I don’t find that sort of joy anywhere else. It’s a playful space where we can experiment and create together, but it’s also deadly serious because it matters.”
“Sian [creative director] has this incredible vision, but you never feel led by the nose. You feel like you’re part of what’s being created.”
“It’s like a very complicated jigsaw. But somehow all the pieces come together.”
Those conversations have been central to the development of We’ll Take It From Here, Dear, a new work exploring ageism, agency and the ways older women are often spoken for or dismissed. Reflecting on the themes of the piece, Miranda points to the close relationship between ageism and misogyny: “I think women get it far more than men a lot of the time.”
She has also found herself thinking more deeply about the ways ageism can become internalised: “We breathe in society’s attitudes. You start asking yourself: ‘Could I do that?’”
At the same time, Miranda is keen to challenge the idea that getting older means becoming invisible. “In some ways, not being viewed in the same way can actually be freeing. It allows you to be more yourself.”
“It’s given me an amazing identity. I feel like I’ve regained a bit of myself that perhaps got lost through years of work, family and caring for other people.”
“We’ve shared things with each other that perhaps you wouldn’t even share with some of your oldest friends.”
When audiences come to see We’ll Take It From Here, Dear, Miranda hopes they leave questioning their assumptions about ageing and older women.
“I want people to think about how they talk to older relatives, older friends, older women in their lives.”
“Every older person is an individual. They have long, rich lives full of stories. We should be curious about them, listen to them and respect them.”
On 17 June, We’ll Take It From Here, Dear (Work in Progress) is premiering at The Grand Folkestone as part of Wavelengths Festival.
Secure your free tickets here.
We’ll Take It From Here, Dear has been generously supported by Arts Council England.