A show about mid-life women by a mid-life woman and based on anthropologist Dr Isabel de Salis’s research into 50 menopausal women for over 10 years, Mid Life is poignant, funny, over-reaching and frustrating by turns.
There is a lot packed into just 90 uninterrupted minutes, from the physical and mental effects of perimenopause and menopause, to changing relationships with mothers and children, to the impact of upbringing, ageing, sexuality, race, becoming adult orphans and much more. Maybe too much more.
It is Claire’s birthday. To celebrate her 50th, she excitedly dons a sparkly jumpsuit and gathers family and book club members, fellow community centre trustees and others to a do where she is to be the centre of attention: to perform, to tell her story, to dance her dance and be, albeit for a moment in time, the successful person she wants to be in a one-woman vanity show. But smug arsehole husband Simon is stuck at the office again, her truculent teenage daughter is welded to her phone and face-contouring make-up in her bedroom while the audio describer and the BSL interpreter are determined to have their say.
And so begins the chaos with one wolf, gay rights activist Karen (Spicer) and aphasic, desperate-to-avoid-the-‘angry-black-woman’-stamp Jacqui (Beckford) going off script to give their mid-life monologues too. All have tales of angst in the past and mother’s voices in their heads, but how that has manifested varies, underlining the universality of the condition and the uniqueness of the experience. For some, mid-life is hope-crushing and for others it is liberating. Meanwhile, Ali Gordon quietly and professionally steps up as BSL interpreter.
Derailed by interruptions, by menopausal symptoms and a complete meltdown, Claire (Hodgson) stutters her way through a shambolic evening, a far cry from the glitzy and life-affirming showpiece intended.
Sheila Chapman’s piece is crammed with worthy and recognisable points, humour and release, affecting backstories and counterpoints but becomes a tad episodic and—well—loses impact by trying to do too much.
And throughout, Rosie Powell’s film is projected on the back screen, and there are some banging tunes, the soundtrack to Claire’s life, curated by professional DJ Judith Jacob (Captain Philips, Death in Paradise, Eastenders) who pulls together the three protagonists and hosts the disco after-party on stage.
Diverse City is a company that supports equality and diversity in the arts, championing diverse artists and leaders, breaking down barriers and working to make the arts more inclusive.