Aging audience drives growth in family shows

Across the country, artists are creating quality work that appeals to several generations simultaneously, and kids are reaping the benefits.

Image: Jelly or Jam at Adelaide Fringe. Photo credit: Kate Pardey.

Australia’s aging population may have economists and politicians worried – understandably, given the impact this demographic shift is forecast to have on social services such as health and housing – but for artists and arts festivals, at least, there’s a silver lining.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in early 2020. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association in 2021, and a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Photo: Fiona Hamilton. Follow Richard on Bluesky @richardthewatts.bsky.social and Instagram @richard.l.watts