The inspiration for Middle Raged came to Canberran Queenie Van de Zandt (pictured) at cast member Carita Farrer Spencer’s 50th birthday party. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
A woman expressing her anger and rage can still feel like a rebellious act, yet one that can leave her sidelined and shamed for experiencing a human emotion.
That hasn’t stopped award-winning performer, writer and Canberra local Queenie van de Zandt, alongside writer-producer and former Canberran Tiffany Noack, from talking with women across Australia over five years and combining their experiences into a stage show that shines a spotlight on the chaos, courage and comedy of ageing, raging and embracing change.
“Women have no voice in midlife; they just get ignored completely. It’s unbelievable how suddenly you become invisible in society,” Queenie said.
The idea came about at a 50th birthday party where the women were furiously sharing stories about menopause and midlife, wondering why they weren’t warned or better prepared for something more than half of the world’s population goes through.
“In the middle of all that, I went, ‘Oh my god, we’re not middle aged, we’re middle RAGED!’,” Queenie recalled.
“The room erupted, and we knew instantly it was more than a funny line – it was a show that needed to be made.”
Middle Raged is a show that has everything – part comedy, part concert and part midlife awakening.
Audience members are invited to upload a photo to be shared on stage as they enter the theatre; there are sing-alongs to 80s bangers and there’s a deep dive into invisibility, ageing, menopause, being part of the “sandwich generation”, the mental load and just how exhausting it can all feel.
“There can be such misogyny [in theatre] because they can go … ‘Oh, older women, they’re not interesting, they’re gross, they’re old’ – that’s what we want change with this show,” Queenie said.
“Obviously, we want to entertain everyone and the show is very, very funny, but it also packs a punch – it’s not called Middle Raged for nothing.”
The rage some women experience as they go through menopause was intently researched for the show, and an article Me, drugs and the perimenopause by The Times columnist Caitlin Moran was a big influence.
It discusses how estrogen has almost the same properties as Valium, but when the menopause hits, that all goes away.
“So basically, we are literally drugged from the time we have our period … so that we don’t murder our children when they’re little, so that we can cope with childbirth and pregnancy, so that we can cope with periods, so we can cope with losing our virginity, all these terribly painful things that happen in our lives,” Queenie said.
“And then midlife it stops … this is bullshit, you know, you’re suddenly full with this kind of testosterone and rage.
“We literally become, it’s not that we become angry, we become [chemically] more like men.”
Society is expanding its understanding of menopause – and perimenopause – as the years progress.
But there’s something about coming together as a group to see your collective experience unashamedly celebrated and exposed on stage.
Queenie hoped women (and men) leave the performance embracing the changes that happen in middle life, the metamorphosis that occurs and feel not so alone.
“Embrace that feeling of going, ‘Actually, I will say f*** if I feel like it’ and ‘I will stand up for that because it’s not good enough’,” she advised.
“We are not cranky old women, we are just becoming the women we’re meant to be.”
Middle Raged is showing until 11 July at the Canberra Theatre Centre.
