En/Countering Ageism Together: All the Sex I’ve Ever Had by Mammalian Diving Reflex

Abstract

Toronto-based Canadian theatre group Mammalian Diving Reflex produced various editions resulting from its city tour of the performance All the Sex I’ve Ever Had (shortened as AtS) from 2010 to present, including AtS-International Edition (2014) in Toronto. In this article, Heunjung Lee analyzes the live performance of multiple city editions, most notably AtS-Gwangmyeong (2021), to understand the relational aesthetics and dramaturgy it installs among older community performers, younger creative team members, and the audience. By demonstrating the performative power of aged citizens on stage to document, remember, and combat the ageist perspectives that are deeply rooted in many cultures, including Canada, this and other editions of AtS reveal and counter the ageist stigma around the sexuality of older adults. Heunjung Lee draws on this analysis to reframe non-professional older performers as experts of age/ing, drawing on the notion of “experts of everyday” which describes non-professional performers in Reality Theatre. This new term illuminates the generosity, vulnerability, and power of the older performers who (en)counter ageist perceptions and assumptions against old age by sharing their unique experience and view of ageing, sex, and life.