Do you have a story to share? Harrogate residents invited to be part of a new theatre production

There is something quietly powerful about being listened to.

This spring, a new theatre production is taking shape in Harrogate, and it begins not with a script, but with a conversation. Over a cup of tea. A memory recalled. A moment that stayed with you longer than expected.

Sinfonia: Stories from Harrogate comes to Harrogate Theatre from 25 to 27 June, created by The Performance Ensemble, a company known for placing older voices at the centre of their work. But before the lights go up, the story begins here, with people from Harrogate and the surrounding area. The company is inviting local residents aged 60 and over to take part in a series of relaxed, informal conversations across April and May. There is no audition. No expectation to perform. Just an opportunity to talk, to share, and to be heard.

At the heart of Sinfonia is a simple but striking idea. A group of older professional actors work alongside local residents, creating a space where lived experience and performance meet. The result is neither traditional theatre nor a community project in the usual sense, but something more immediate. A shared act of storytelling, shaped by the people who live it. The stories themselves are often small. A first job. A friendship that lasted a lifetime. A moment of change that seemed insignificant at the time, but wasn’t. Others carry more weight. Together, they form a portrait of life as it is lived, with humour, tenderness, and honesty.

Artistic Director Alan Lyddiard has spent years creating work that challenges how older people are seen and heard. Too often, he suggests, stories about ageing are told from the outside. Here, the invitation is different. To speak for yourself. To be part of something that values experience, memory and voice. And perhaps just as importantly, to meet others. To sit together, talk, listen, and discover what connects one life to another.

You don’t need any experience. You don’t need to think of yourself as a performer. If you are curious, that is enough.

Sinfonia: Stories from Harrogate will be performed at Harrogate Theatre from 25 to 27 June, but the process is already underway. If you are aged 60 or over and would like to find out more, the first step is simply to get in touch and arrange a conversation. It starts, as many good things do, with a cup of tea.

To find out more and arrange a visit please email: info@theperformanceensemble.com