Liz Lea performs in Diamond, a one-woman production exploring ageing, menopause and resilience through dance, song and cabaret. Photo: O&J Wikner Photography.
When internationally acclaimed Canberra dancer and choreographer Liz Lea turned 40, she began to feel invisible.
Work became harder to find. She questioned where she belonged. Then came menopause.
“I just thought I was going a bit nuts,” she says.
For years, Lea believed she was navigating those changes alone. She wasn’t.
While developing her new one-woman production Diamond, Lea invited women from Canberra and Queanbeyan to share their experiences of ageing, menopause and midlife. Instead of hearing dozens of different stories, she found herself hearing the same one over and over.
“They all thought it was just them.”
Women spoke about brain fog, sleepless nights, changing careers, shifting identities and trying to understand bodies that suddenly felt unfamiliar. Many had spent years believing they were the only ones experiencing it.
Those conversations transformed Diamond from a deeply personal work into a shared story about resilience, reinvention and the often-overlooked experiences of ageing women.
The production follows RED, Lea’s acclaimed autobiographical solo work inspired by living with endometriosis for 35 years — a condition that ultimately meant she could not have children. If RED explored loss, Diamond looks at what comes next.
Lea says one of the biggest surprises was discovering how little women knew about menopause before experiencing it.
“We’re trying to navigate work, families and everyday life while wondering what on earth is going on,” she says.
Diamond evolved from a deeply personal work into a shared story about resilience and reinvention. Photo: O&J Wikner Photography.
Among all the women she met, one conversation has stayed with her.
A 75-year-old woman told Lea she loved becoming invisible.
Rather than seeing ageing as something to fear, she described it as freedom — freedom from expectations and from constantly worrying about how others saw her.
“She’s able to live her life on her terms,” Lea says.
“I found that really empowering.”
The conversation also made Lea rethink her own experience.
Although she remembers feeling overlooked in her 40s, she says her career has since flourished. More importantly, she realised ageing wasn’t simply about what women lose.
“It’s definitely about how we redefine ourselves as we get older, how we see ourselves and how we are valued.”
That idea sits at the heart of Diamond.
Despite tackling subjects often discussed in whispers, Lea says audiences should not expect a sombre evening.
“It’s not a downer,” she laughs. “It’s basically a musical comedy.”
Humour, music and dance sit alongside honest conversations about menopause, friendship, identity and the freedom many women discover as they grow older.
Lea also hopes the show resonates with men.
Three male community performers are part of the production, reflecting her belief that menopause and ageing are conversations families and partners should have together.
“We don’t go through these experiences alone,” she says.
“We need the support of the people around us.”
She hopes the show gives audiences a better understanding of what many women experience, often silently.
An ACT Artist of the Year and Australian Dance Award recipient, Lea has spent more than three decades creating work across Australia, Europe, Asia, Africa and the United States.
Diamond is the second work in a trilogy that began with RED, drawing on both her own experiences and the stories of local women to start conversations that are often left until much later in life.
Presented as part of Q the Locals, Diamond will have its world premiere at The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, on 6 and 7 August at 7:30 pm, and 8 August at 2 pm and 7:30 pm.
