title: Translating research findings into community based theatre: More than a dead man's wife.
abstract: Increasingly, qualitative scholars in health and social sciences are turning to innovative strategies as a way of translating research findings into informative, accessible and enjoyable forms for the community. The aim of this article is to describe how the research findings of a doctoral thesis - a narrative study about 58 older women's experiences of widowhood - were translated into a unique and professionally developed script to form the basis for a successful theatrical production that has travelled extensively within Australia. This article reports on the process of collaboration between a researcher, a highly regarded Australian actor/script writer and an ensemble of well-known and experienced professional actors. Together the collaborating partners translated the research data and findings about growing older and 'widowhood' into a high quality theatre production. In particular, we argue in this paper that research-based theatre is an appropriate medium for communicating research findings about important life issues of concern to older people in a safe, affirming and entertaining manner. By outlining the process of translating research findings into theatre we hope to show that there is a real value in this translation approach for both researcher and audience alike.
authors.affiliation: Healthy Ageing Research Unit (HARU), School of Primary Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: Susan.Feldman@monash.edu.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hopgood
authors.forename: Marissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dickins
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001315:Australia; D004324:Drama; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008875:Middle Aged; D033262:Narration; D011577:Psychodrama; D014504:Urban Health; D017805:Widowhood / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Aging; Health; Theatre; Wellbeing; Widowhood; Women