‘Middle Raged – A Musical Meltdown’ will bring real stories, big laughs, and zero filter to The Joan this July as the cast celebrates menopause, midlife and finding your fire.
Writer and performer Queenie van de Zandt was at a 50th birthday party alongside writer and producer Tiffany Noack when the idea for the show occurred to the women simultaneously.
“All the middle-aged women started furiously sharing stories about menopause and feeling invisible, looking at each other as if to say, ‘What fresh hell is this? Why did no one warn us?’,” Queenie recounted.
“I said, ‘We’re not middle aged – we’re middle RAGED.’
“The room erupted, and we knew instantly it was more than a funny line – it was a show that needed to be made.”
What followed was five years of gathering stories from women across Australia to convey the humour and heartbreak found in midlife.
“It’s hard to define the show, because it’s not a musical, it’s not a play, and it’s not a play with music. Someone asked me if it’s a revue-sical – like a musical revue – and I thought that was a great description,” Queenie described.
“It’s a whole bunch of vignettes and skits and songs; there’s a poem and a film and soundscapes and a sing-along with the audience – it’s a very multi art form show.
“There are all these different elements that happen on stage that create an incredibly funny, entertaining, educational and empowering show where people walk out understanding middle age and what women are going through.”
There are highly emotional tear-jerking moments in the show, balanced out by hysterical knee-slapping moments – including musical comedian Gillian Cosgriff’s song, ‘The To-Do List’.
“She wrote it in 30 minutes when we were workshopping the material,” Queenie said.
“We asked all these women to give us their to-do lists, which were along the lines of, ‘Get Gary’s braces off’, ‘Bake the cake for Tamara’s school’, ‘Get my shoes fixed’, and ‘Book the hairdresser’.
“The to-do lists which were so fascinating to read, and she took all that information and created a hilarious song with it.”
Gillian Cosgriff’s original material will be played alongside iconic songs by Missy Higgins, Tim Minchin, Sia and P!nk.
The bold and heartfelt performance shows women that they are not invisible, and once they are over the hill, the view is incredible.
“It’s an extraordinary period that women have to go through of empty nesting, of letting go of children, and of letting go of parents so that they become the queen-agers – the next generation of leaders,” Queenie said.
Co-creator Tiffany Noack said this show has been a long time coming.
“It feels long overdue for us to have a fresh, modern show that puts our stories front and centre,” she said.
“We wanted to create a work that not only shines a spotlight on the riotous chaos of ageing, raging and changing, but also celebrates what comes out of that – power, perspective, freedom and friendship.”
See ‘Middle Raged – A Musical Meltdown’ at The Joan from July 3 to July 4. Book your tickets online at www.thejoan.com.au.
