About us

Age is a Stage is a project of OldSkool Arts and is run by Chris Cresswell.

OldSkool Arts

OldSkool Arts is an umbrella arts organisation that includes Age Is A Stage theatre arts company. AIAS was founded in 2018 to specialize in providing opportunities and access to  live theatre and  to recognise the vital role  that  theatre arts can play in developing and promoting healthy ageing. For the past 6 years we have been concentrating on building and expanding the work that we do as Age Is A Stage theatre, including performing, holding workshops and creating work reflecting the concerns of older people. We are fortunate to have the support of Creative Learning team at  Brighton’s Theatre Royal  and the Ropetackle Arts centre Shoreham. Our latest project Laughter for Life is funded by Ageing Well/Impact Initiative to provide workshops for the unwaged on the outskirts of Brighton and Hove

Chris earned his Equity card playing on the alternative cabaret scene in London in the late 80s. Chris worked with satirical songsters Skint Video before joining circus theatre company Ra Ra Zoo, playing to audiences all around the world. He was instrumental in promoting circus cabaret in London before moving to Brighton with his own theatre and cabaret company, Voodoo Vaudeville, which had a successful ten-year residency at the Komedia.

Chris has performed at many high-profile festivals, and worked in the arena of physical comedy and clown, with residencies in Berlin and New York. 

In conjunction with the Arts Council, Chris has researched and produced a variety of performances, as well as bringing international circus artists including members of Cirque du Soleil to the Spiegeltent at the Brighton Fringe Festival. He has also produced and performed in his award-winning show Lost In Transit. Chris runs a highly successful percussion company Clatteratti who have been performing internationally for over 15 years. 

Chris has appeared in Blue Peter, The Generation Game, the Nicholas Parsons Show and Eastenders. He also played Willy Wonka’s candy-making rival Prodnose in Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Chris is a household face in Norway, having starred in a long-running series of award-winning commercials. 

Chris is passionate about developing theatre and cabaret skills in others by passing on his knowledge and experience. He was course leader at The Italia Conti Academy and has taught in numerous other establishments including National School of Circus Arts, Northbrook College Worthing, Brighton University and Brighton Dome. He was until recently an Associate Lecturer at Chichester University with his own speciality module entitled Mask and Clown. 

In 2006, Chris’s journey into helping older people achieve their potential through drama, clowning and theatre skills began, when he received funding from Brighton and Hove Council to run the street theatre project Street Elders. This took older performers onto the streets of Brighton and Hastings. 

In 2018, he started running drama classes under the Age Is A Stage (AIAS) banner as part of Brighton Theatre Royal’s Creative Learning Department, expanding to Ropetackle Arts Centre in Shoreham in 2020. Chris also other classes throughout the year, including advanced Development Classes which delve more deeply into comic techniques, along with fun-filled ‘Laughter for Life’ workshops. 

Together with AIAS members, Chris developed and performed the successful Brighton Fringe show ‘Beyond the Nose’ in 2023, with a new show ‘Insurrection Shuffle’ planned for 2024. 

AIAS has received funding from The Paley Trust, Sussex Community and BHC, and has grown into a successful and supportive community for older people, instrumental in growing confidence, increasing visibility and fostering close friendships.