The stories of women in midlife are having a moment. It’s about time too: for centuries, men’s experiences and perspectives have dominated creative, media, political and history fields in Australia.
That’s not my opinion: it’s documented fact with rigorous evidence to support the fact that in patriarchal social and economic systems, men’s voices are the loudest.
Innovative theatre productions like In Her Shoes go a little way toward addressing this imbalance.
In Her Shoes is a participatory theatre project and the third production of the new Mature Women Actors’ Hub (MWAH) in collaboration with Gympie-based Perseverance Street Theatre Company run by Artistic Director Sharon Hogan.
The show was inspired by the idea that ‘The shoes we wear tell stories: of where we’ve been, what we’ve endured and who we are becoming’. This idea is the foundation of 19 individual vignettes (short scenes), exploring the emotional, social and political landscapes navigated by mature women.
Shoes are a metaphor for the journeys women take. IMAGE supplied
What a diversity of landscapes they are: from a light-hearted monologue about identifying as a gardener; to coping with the loss of a sister (by trying to find a home for her shoes); to the ravaging effects of breast cancer on the patient’s health and social and emotional life.
The Gardener IMAGE supplied
The ensemble of Celine Roth, Fiona Burgess, Helen May, Jacqueline Hogno, Katherine Hornby, Kelly Garrett, Michelle Feather, Narayana and Su Foster crafted the stories themselves, hence ‘participatory theatre’. The results are authentic, original and moving. While several were first-time actors, the wit and integrity of their stories shone through the odd timing glitch and quiet pause as lines were recalled.
The stand-out scene for this reviewer was Kelly Garrett’s Still here, where Garrett sat with a coolamon filled with Bunya Nuts to tell the story of her 95 year-old grandmother, a First Nations woman born on the banks of the Mary River.
Kelly Garratt narrated her grandmother’s story. IMAGE supplied
Garratt poignantly embodies how it was for her grandmother, a light-skinned Aborigine, too frightened of racism to admit to her own children that they were Aboriginal in case the ‘bullyman’ took her children away.
Many mature women would relate to other vignettes about the struggle to get help when menopause takes your oestrogen away (which is like taking oil from a car).
Narayana was in fine voice in her scene Mirroranda which seemed to be about fighting self-doubt when comparing yourself (and being compared) to other women in the competitive culture often fostered in Western societies.
Homelessness growing
A sad, silent scene depicted the increasingly common occurrence of women finding themselves homeless in midlife and a shop assistant shooing a sleeping woman away from her shopfront first thing in the morning. (The 2021 Census reported an increase of 6.6 per cent to 7,325 women over 55 experiencing homelessness in Australia).
Celine Roth’s clever ‘Ted Talk’ provided some biting Politics 101 as context for why so many women are suffering from homelessness, poverty, fear of invisibility and the even worse fear of our world being destroyed by capitalism.
Plenty of humour
These heavier themes were balanced with ample humour and laugh out loud moments sending up snobby shoe shop assistants, the ubiquitous mean girl, the physical comedy of wearing stilettos and the often farcical wellness movement.
Jacqui Hogno’s husky voice reminded me of Marianne Faithful in If I don’t stop I’ll disappear which depicts a travelling musician pondering the sacrifices of a creative life while never breaking through to fame and fortune.
A slow-paced and exquisitely lit dance scene perhaps depicted the growth that continues after a woman turns 50.
True to form, Perseverance Street Theatre Company and the Mature Women’s Acting Hub continue to tell their own stories, on their own terms, about being an Australian woman over 50 with humour, frankness, music and always a bit of sparkle.
In Her Shoes was directed by Sharon Hogan with lighting by Jonas White, sound by Alex Harvey and played at Perseverance Street Theatre in Barter St, Gympie.
Check out what’s coming up next at www.perseverancestreet.com.au
IMAGE: supplied
