Popular searches:
Railway children Access What's on Learning Visit

Life Class: Powerful new music theatre piece for Bradford 2025 gives voice to older people

Published October 29, 2025

Life Class is a new commission by 509 Arts for Bradford 2025. Written and directed by the award-winning team of Alan Dix with co-writer Mike Kenny and music by Richard Taylor, Life Class is a joyful and sometimes serious look at the ageing body and the changes that happen to us as we age.

Everyone’s body has a story to tell, and through the lens of drawing and painting, narratives are revealed, lessons shared, and songs are sung. A community chorus of 31 local people aged over 60 accompany the cast and musicians (piano, harp and cello) to perform Richard Taylor’s original score. Together, they sing songs, tell stories and cavort their way through the truth and beauty of getting older.

In a life drawing studio, Billy (Tyrone Huggins) models for his long-term partner Alex (Alwyne Taylor), while writing the journal he has been keeping for years. Storyteller and commentator, Cora (Tricia Kelly) observes and underscores the action, leading the cast and audience into unexpected territory. An exciting digital landscape informs the many narratives, bringing a rich visual element to the work.

Life Class features set and costume design by Hannah Sibai, projections by Paul Slater (Fabric Lenny), lighting by Simon Bedwell, sound design by Ed Clarke, and movement direction by Balbir Singh. Mark Goggins joins the creative team as musical director, alongside chorus director Em Whitfield Brooks.

The production takes up residency in the theatre at Loading Bay, Bradford 2025’s performance venue in the heart of the city, from 3 – 12 October. The show has a running time of approximately 75 minutes, with several matinees as well as audio-described, captioned and British Sign Language-interpreted performances.

A series of accompanying ‘Cuppa T’ daytime panel talks explore the themes of the ageing body, the experiences of older people, and the social and political impacts of this increasing demographic within Bradford and beyond. These will take place on the set of Life Class in Loading Bay, at 3pm on Wednesday 8 and Friday 10 October.

Life Class is a piece of work which looks at the human body and the landscape of its stories, drawing on conversations we’ve been having with older people in Bradford over the last 10 years. The play is a kaleidoscopic way of looking at ageing, including two people, Alex and Billy, an artist and a life model, navigating their way through old age and the things they encounter on the way.

As a nation, we’re getting older. Society is having to shift and change and the rules and stereotypes about older people are changing too. A lot of today’s older generation have been involved in very important fights for equality and rights, in Bradford and elsewhere. There’s no reason why that should not continue as you get older - we have a right and a responsibility to bring our experiences together. The wealth of stories older people have is almost like a mineral, it’s a resource.
Alan Dix Artistic Director of 509 Arts and writer/director of Life Class
Storytelling, music-making and creativity deserve to be part of everybody’s life at all stages. With a community chorus of 31 older Bradfordians alongside the cast and musicians, this will be an unmissable, moving and timely new theatre work, raising the voices and sharing the experiences of the growing demographic of older people in our region and beyond.
Shanaz Gulzar Creative Director for Bradford 2025