Access all ages Madrid scheme links older people to contemporary theatre

The 25 people who have gathered in a small Madrid theatre over the past few months to consider identity, relationships, gender-based violence and inclusion are not exactly the crowd you would expect at a cutting-edge drama space in a former slaughterhouse.

- Sam Jones

And that is precisely the point.

The men and women, aged from 65 to 84, are the first cohort of an initiative to introduce those living around the Matadero arts centre, in the south of the Spanish capital, to contemporary theatre.

Last year, mindful that many older residents of the barrios of Usera and Arganzuela rarely attended contemporary theatre and would be unlikely to visit the new Nave 10 space, the Matadero and the city council came up with a plan.

Marta Ruiz, who leads Nave 10's educational work, explained: "We decided that, in order to create a dialogue between generations, it would be good to bring older people in and make them feel that they were a part of things."