Menopause musical hits London

2007-04-20 19:30

London - Menopause The Musical, a worldwide cult theatre hit celebrating memory loss, grey hair and chocolate binges, brought critics out in a hot flush when it hit London this week.

The show rewrites hits from the 1960s and 1970s to examine the perils of "the change of life" - My Guy by Mary Wells is transformed into My Thighs, while the Beach Boys' Good Vibrations becomes an ode to a sex aid.

Since its premiere in 2001, the musical, which shows the friendship between four women who meet while fighting over lingerie in a department store, has been seen by over eight and a half million people in nine countries.

Its biggest success has been in the United States but it has also been staged in countries including Australia, Italy and South Korea.

Critics in Britain were, though, less enthusiastic.

The Independent's reviewer praised the musical's "good nature" but suggested that it "often has the air of an amateur skit performed at an office party."

"When Germaine Greer wrote that women need to invent a formal celebration to mark this important transition, I don't think she had in mind a musical that features a climactic love song addressed to a vibrator," the paper added.

The Stage magazine, meanwhile, said that the London leg of the performance would likely see the musical "continue its unstoppable international trajectory."

"As a condition that affects at least half the world population...no wonder it has a nearly universal appeal," it said.

Middle-aged women, whooping and laughing, dominated the audience

Journalists were invited to a charity gala of the show, which is currently running at the Shaw Theatre, on Wednesday.

Groups of middle-aged women dominated the audience, whooping and laughing their way through the performance.

Some, though, had brought their husbands and children, many of whom seemed slightly overwhelmed by the occasion.

Writer Jeanie Linders says she had the idea for the script when she was standing next to her refrigerator, trying to cool down during a hot flush.

"This song just came into my head, Hot Flush to the tune of (Rod Stewart's) Hot Legs, ya know?" she told the Times newspaper.

- AFP