The menopause isn’t usually the subject of comedy in fact type the word into your search engine and you’ll get a barrage of remorselessly bleak advice about incontinence, lack of libido, depression and HRT, couched in florid, scare-mongering language. It’s depressing and driven by commerce and not at all funny.
Aiming to dispel this perception of the older woman, Abigail Dooley and Emma Edwards have created Enter The Dragons, a frank, funny and fearless stage show about the pressures facing women as they age, unashamedly subverting ideas about beauty, sex and feminism. Beset by challenges, riddles and obstacles, the protagonist navigates her way through the landscape of the Banished guided by mystical creatures and Seers who have gone before. What wisdom can they impart? How can she best equip herself to defeat the demons in this Game of Crones?
Abigail and Emma say “As two women in our late 40’s and early 50’s we are personally experiencing the transition from young to old and all the taboos, fears and joys it brings. There is a lack of positive, empowering voices for woman 50 + in society and are excited to use our experience and knowledge in physical theatre to explore this subject; there are very few mature female performers using bouffon or clown.”
Showing at The Hackney Showroom for one night only, The Dragons is 60 minutes of action-packed, tightly written performance with stupid characters, bad puppetry, mad costumes, a rude song and lots of wigs. It sounds hilarious and after only ten minutes chatting to Abigail, I think it might be the start of a whole movement around talking opening about the menopause.
You can buy tickets here.
