“I think older women should turn to crime. We don’t even need a balaclava, we are already invisible.”
So much of what is presented at Fringe is by young people about young people’s experience. Which is wonderful, but this show was something really special.
In the Lady Garden is a show for and about those of us with some silver hair!
To be fair, it is also for anyone with a mother, aunt, or old lady neighbor that they are fond of in their lives. Or anyone that just wants to see a great piece of theater. But it really is something special for those of us who have worn some of the tread off our tires.
How utterly marvelous. What a gorgeous script. A virtually perfect piece of theater – one woman on stage embodying the most interesting late life everywoman you could hope to meet. A character written and played with authenticity and intimacy. A triumph for the Director who I got to speak my appreciation to and hug several times on my way out of the performance.
Thank you for reminding everyone that older women have life experience, and also have dreams, a sense of adventure and humor. There is a great deal to admire about this character and her resilience.
I appreciate that things have changed and gotten better, but shaming and obligation, being relegated to unrewarding jobs and robbed of educational opportunities… this was the formative life experience for many of us. Often passed on to us from our own mothers.
I turned 59 last week; I’m a little younger than the character in this show, but plenty old enough for this to resonate for me. My mother is a little older than the character in this show and over time she talked to me about the social pressure and limitations she lived under and the sacrifices she made. She never got to live her best life. I’m not sure she ever gave herself room to dream. She just had to be content with what she had. Now it is too late for her. Alzheimer’s has claimed the remainder of her time.
I won’t let that happen to me.
I’m queer and been leaning masculine in my non-binary identity for awhile now. I think perhaps some of my discomfort and rejection of female identity stems from the double standards for genders. I have always been unwilling to be taken for granted and taken advantage of and make it a point to stand out in contrast against the creeping invisibility of aging. I have always less willing or able to conform to the societal role my chromosomal biology cast me in. That has come with it’s own problems, but also has been something of a an escape hatch.
“Reverie is a marvelous word. It makes me think of being on a carousel of thoughts.”
(Paraphrased from the show.)
I’m spending time in reverie, reviewing dreams and desires, and learning how to be just me not in obligation or relationship to anyone else. I am choosing relationships that enhance my freedom and support me. I am choosing to pursue my own dreams and find my best life. I’m looking forward to the next ten years of my life and what I will get to be.
Feeling so much gratitude for this show.