SUNDAY BLOG: WITH AGE COMES GREAT DIFFICULTIES SO KEEP THE LIPSTICK AND THE OLD SPICE NEARBY

 

HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN

I find it inexplicable.  Why on earth did Danny Baker, with years of experience, tweet what he did, a picture of a well dressed couple in the 1930s, parents presumably, holding the hands of an equally well dressed monkey.  The caption read: Royal baby leaves hospital.  Obviously a direct reaction to Megan and Harry and the birth of their lovely little boy, Archie.  Danny Baker has apologised, grovelled, swallowed his pride, acknowledged what a stupid fool he had been but never once said he hoped the Royals would forgive him.  The young couple must have been mortified, she being mixed race (horrible expression) and he having a beef with the media.  On the actual day the baby was introduced to the public and the joy on their faces was just lovely, can you imagine how they must have felt when the news broke.  I was a fan of Baker, every Saturday morning at 9 a.m. I was tuned in for his brilliant nonsense, the obscure facts he told me, the sausage sandwich game and the catchy jingle from actor, musician, writer and impressionist Duncan Wisbey, just known as Wisbey.   His special song ends ‘Take it away Danny.’  I’ll miss Danny but what he did was extraordinarily awful and I don’t want to listen to him anymore.

 

The death of Freddie Starr is a sad ending to a brilliant career, at least for the audiences.  He had his demons and his health scares but he always entertained to his upmost.  His end was tragic, alone and probably very terrifying in a strange country.  76 years of age, four wives and six children he considered he was hounded out of his home in England to flee to Spain where he eventually died destitute.  Apparently his body is still in a mortuary because there is no money to bury him.  Surely one of his wealthy colleagues who admired him so much will step forward and give him a decent funeral.

 

MATURING GRACEFULLY OR DISGRACEFULLY

 

 

Reinventing yourself isn’t all that easy but some people have the knack.  Needs must as my granny used to say and Carol Moore is a fine example of someone who had adapted to the ups and downs of life in the theatre.  Now she has written  her one woman play, ‘The Experience of Being’, funny and moving as she looks at the ageing process and asks does it need to be so difficult?

“Two years ago I became 60 and I began reflecting on age, I had a sense of what it’s like to be an older woman with dwindling power, dodgy health and of social isolation.  I decided I wouldn’t accept it!” 

Regardless of age there are some days when you just don’t want to look in the mirror but Carol did bite the bullet and examined her life physically,  mentally and emotionally and the result is a fascinating piece of writing and acting.

it’s all about Cathy who asks herself what’s to celebrate about reaching 60 so she downs a bottle of Prosecco and a family size packet of crisps and considers how women become invisible after a certain age, how the world seems to revolve round magazines celebrating thin young women with perfect hair, perfect teeth and perfect makeup.  It’s easy to feel what’s the point.  It’s a positive youth driven society, old age is negative.  But, she asks, does it need to be like this?  She sets out to find out.

Writing the play when she as was the Mac Theatre’s Artist in Residence, Carol discovered that agism in general is endemic in our society but especially for women; at a certain age people don’t even see you anymore, you loose your identity, your just another cardigan and flat shoes.

Cosmetic Surgery Is A Booming Business

I’ve met perfectly attractive women who have gone under the knife but is the pain and the short term gain worth it?  Even 20 years olds are resorting to Botox, they believe to remain attractive you must be youthful.

I know a women who did supply teaching and she was the life and soul of the party in the staff room, the young ones included her in their outing to the pub on a Friday after work and she was happy.  Then the day came when she invited them to join her for a drink to celebrate her birthday.  What age they chorused.  63 came the reply.  Everything changed, she was old enough to be their granny and they began treating her like their granny, they were suddenly polite around her, held her chair when she sat down, invitations to join their fun dwindled afraid their antics and language would offend. She began to feel awkward and she was glad when her time with them came to an end.  

For actresses in the 1980s it was a similar story of being ignored although not because they were of an age but because they were women.

When a group of five actresses took the initiative to write their own material they made their mark.  The Charabanc company presented around 20 plays most of them as the result of researching their stories by talking to people directly involved in the subject matter.  ‘Lay up your Ends’ was their first and featured the experiences of women who worked in the linen mill in York Street.  

 
This truth is experienced by a range of men suffering through ED can guzzle this tablet with or order cheap viagra without food. In many cases, certain mens vitamins can cure the problems and be a much healthier alternate to medications that specifically target and influence serotonin.These are mostly people who are http://djpaulkom.tv/da-mafia-6ixs-6ix-commandments-named-album-of-the-month-by-spin-mag/ prices viagra allergic are at more risk of side-effect. So if you persist, and don’t quit, it is all there for the taking.When you put everything together: http://djpaulkom.tv/i-cant-take-it-remix-ft-busta-rhymes-and-dj-kay-slay-main-and-radio-download/ order cialis Management commitment, enthusiastic distributors, strong upline support, outstanding products, lucrative pay plan, plus simplicity; it looks like a winner to me. In fact, more men are opting for pills that can enhance your sex power, it is always advisable to go with herbal levitra generika 40mg sex pills for men.
They have all gone on to careers in Theatre. Eleanor Methven, Brenda Palmer Winter who opened in her one women show,’Keep Telling Me Lies’ at the MAC last week, Maureen McAuley, playwright Marie Jones and Carol who has had a remarkable career since Charabanc disbanded in 1995.  From primary school teacher in 1980 through a busy stage and television career to directing and producing and touring in South Africa, Rwanda, Russia, Ireland and the UK. She directed the feature film ‘Pump Girl’ to critical acclaim but when it came to acting it was settling for small roles.

“As I got older I didn’t see myself reflected on the Irish stage, bit parts but nothing challenging. so I decided to create my own part.   I talked to women between the ages of 60 and 95 about their hopes and fears, their experiences of growing old, I  soon realised you have walk in an older persons shoes to see if it will fit down the line.”

Although it’s Cathy’s story and a lot it is based on Carol’s own life and indeed it relates to any woman’s life. 

“I want the audience to feel what Cathy’s feeling.  Typically she goes into a room and forgets what she’s there for – but is that age related or something more sinister? She goes to a her birthday party the night before and can’t remember what happened, she feels her power is dwindling.  It’s not only the ageing it’s the discrimination, it’s how people perceive you, women of age, a figure of fun where dignity has no currency where pity replaces respect.”

Carol’s Message 

Don’t look in the mirror and cry, do something about it.  In your 20s all your life is ahead the future is optimistic but it rushes through, keep up with it, she advises, don’t give into the stair lift and keep your lipstick handy.  Treat maturity as a challenge, have fun and don’t look at the numbers.

Some Great Theatre Around At the Moment

Arriving in the MAC theatre for the opening night of Keep Telling Me Lies was like walking back in time.  The foyer was jumping, Muriel Day was singing, Rod McVey was playing keyboard and mature people were dancing!  It was the perfect start to a night of music from the show band era and a story line that rang very true.  Sisters, Rose (Antoinette Morelli) and Lena (Bernadette Brown), meet after the death of Rose’s husband Rob (Matthew Forsythe) and begin to reminisce about their growing up, their scary Catholic mother (Eileen McCloskey) who barely allowed them to breath but despite the strict rules slipping slip off to the Floral Hall and paying the 7/6p entrance fee.  There they meet two members of the band and the inevitable happens, they fall in love and quite a harrowing tale unfolds.  

Written and directed by Brenda Winter-Palmer the story is set against the Troubles, noisy helicopters swoop over, search lights beam down, ambulance sirens, distant shots.  As the two grown women look on, we watch their younger selves arrive for the dance, Young Rose (Mary Frances Loughran) and Young Lena (Brigid Shine) and be chatted up by the two handsome and ambitious musicians, Rob and Manny (Brian Paul Markey) but all the promises, the glitter ball and the heady music don’t bring happiness; there’s been jealously between the sisters even since childhood and in the end the two grown women talk intimately about their lives, their innermost feelings and, for the first time, they share their experiences.  All is not as it seemed, they’ve all been caught in a trap.  

The set is simply, the front of the Floral Hall, run down in the later years stuffed full of hay for the zoo animals, but with a change of lights the old magic is back.  Musician Rod McVey provides the accompaniment for two excellent singers, Brigid Shine and Matthew Forsythe and the ending is a real singsong when the entire cast invite us to join in the songs we know so well including the Huckle Buck which gets arms waving in the air and huge applause.

There were plenty of couples in the audience who danced in the Floral Hall and they loved the show and the chance to talk about those days.  There were many memories to identified with one which needs a slight modification!   When Young Lena is putting on mascara from the little oblong box with a solid block of black cake we all knew and loved, she didn’t spit!  You had to spit to moisten the mascara before brushing – not very ladylike but a great result!

I hope this show goes on tour, it’s a good story, well written and acted and you come away with lovely memories and a song in your heart.

 

This date can be extended throughout May if you wish!

Watch out for more excitement, horror, frighting news beamed at us from America re the Donald.  The naked truth can’t be held under wraps for ever.