By: Rosie Sharman-Ward
Chaotic, hilarious and sometimes awkwardly relatable, Mid Life honestly addresses The Menopause out loud, no whispering, no euphemisms, just truths. When a show you are about to see comes with a video link to some choreography you may wish to indulge in before and after the show you know are about to experience something different.
It is Claire’s 50th birthday and to celebrate she has chosen to perform a one woman show. She has booked a DJ for the afterparty and is sporting a dazzling sequinned jumpsuit and bumbag as befits a former South – East Disco Champion. Her happy plans begin to unravel a little when she is joined on stage by her DJ who is busy setting up, a BSL interpreter and an audio describer. Annoyed, she powers through these unexpected inconveniences and begins her life story.
Claire presents herself as a Successful Person currently with a good career in HR. Capably managing her family life with husband Simon, stepson Ben, teenage daughter Ruby and a dog, it becomes clear that powering through is what she does – a lot. Except that just now she is feeling unsettled. Simon is late arriving for the show and Ruby hasn’t messaged back and she is distracted by others on stage so she can’t remember her lines properly and…. it is all overwhelming. In her head she hears her Mum, who prefers not to keep her opinions to herself, telling her to “get on with it”. Claire’s confidence plummets, her heart races, she can’t breathe properly. She needs to sit down. There is much confusion as the other horrified women react. This is not the show, what is happening?
Trying to fill this yawning space, BSL interpreter Jacqui (Jacqui Beckford) and Audio Describer Karen (Karen Spicer) begin to tell their own stories, while DJ Empress JJ (Judith Jacob) soothes and encourages. Drawn from the actors’ real-life experiences and those of other women, we hear how they each become who they are, shaped by family, their hopes and fears. These stories are moving, uncomfortable and very funny. As each woman speaks you can almost hear an audience member ruefully saying “yep, I recognise that!” Emotions swirl, anger rages, flushes heat, brains fog, self-esteem falls, ageing and loss beckons. Despite this, we are still laughing out loud. Even better, is hearing there can be such positive outcomes. Stepping out from under the weight of societal expectation, released from daily childcare, women become free to be themselves.
It is so refreshing to hear the menopause being discussed openly in front of a mixed audience. While not professing to be a manual, there is enough commonality in Mid Life that it is familiar and reassuring. It is high time to banish embarrassment and secrecy for women, no more muttering darkly about “the Change”. Society is made up of roughly 50% women. It is vital that honest conversations are had, both in homes and in the workplace.
The show’s accessibility is seamlessly woven through the narrative, something that Diverse City and sister company Extraordinary Bodies are so skilled at. The BSL interpretation by both Jacqui Beckford and Ali Gordon is beyond beautiful, so expressive. There are also captions and audio descriptions throughout.
Mid Life ebbs and flows a little at times, even losing momentum occasionally but the characters are delightful, human, feisty people and who doesn’t love a show that finishes in a joyous disco party for cast and audience together.
Presented by Diverse City in association with Theatre Royal Plymouth, Mid Life is written by Sheila Chapman and directed by Lucy Richardson. Co-created by Claire Hodgson, Jacqui Beckford and Karen Spicer.