The purpose of this research is to clarify the trends of activities of theatre involving elderly people, and the aims of the activities through analysis of newspaper articles in Japan.

This research extracts 672 articles from three newspapers in Japan and classifies them into two categories, “watching” and “performing”. “Watching” means that elderly people watch performances by those of younger generations. “Performing” means that elderly people themselves perform. The first article referred to as “watching” appeared in 1953, and that which is referred to as “performing” appeared in 1971. The occurrence of both activities has been increasing since the late 1980s.

The aims of “watching” mentioned in the articles are classified into four categories: “comforting the elderly”, “contributing to society”, “fostering relationships”, and “calling for attention”. In the 1950s, the elderly were written about as unfortunate people. However, they gradually came to be described as learners. Therefore, theatre performances are used to support their understanding and forming of relationships.

The aims of “performing” mentioned in the articles are classified into five categories: “obtaining good health, relationships, and life”, “handing down local culture and history”, “cheering up the elderly by the elderly”, “enriching ‘second life’”, and “investigating physical expression through the elderly's own body”. The main aim of theatre performances by the elderly is to live in good health and maintain a good life. In recent years, both the bodies and the expressions of the elderly are getting a lot of attention as a new theatrical approach.