About Older Voices

Based in the heart of Elora, OLDER VOICES is an inter-generational performance group which promotes heritage and living history through walking tours,drama and music. Costumed tours of Elora, Fergus, Salem and Guelph are offered year round, as are classroom and community  presentations. Special events often involve a troupe of a dozen or more  players  ranging in age from 7 to 70. Performances depict Elora and other communities in the Grand River watershed in the later part of the 19th century when the pioneer age was giving way to the unremitting push of the railroads. Using scripts researched and written by Al Koop, these historical re-creations focus on the lives of children, women and  ordinary people rather than the "great men" of the period. In this time of rapid change, villages were faced with a sudden wave of newcomers, bringing with them, new skills and ideas. This resulted in deepening  tensions between conservatives and reformers, the temperance movement and the so-called "drink interests" as well as hard-line church leaders and young educators with new scientific theories. All this lends itself well to lively historical walks and street theatre featuring local stories,songs and characters of the era.