That's What She Said

That’s What She Said was a theatre piece developed by nationally recognised, independent production company The Good Room, with content co-created by award-winning, internationally programmed playwright, Dr Suzi Miller and acclaimed performer, Dr Andrea Moor. That’s What She Said had its world premiere in February 2020 at Metro Arts, George Street, Brisbane. The production was the last ever show in the Sue Benner Theatre at ‘The Old Broad’, as the George Street home of Metro Arts, Brisbane, was affectionately called, before the building was sold to developers.  That’s What She Said is based on the general public’s responses to 100 provocations about women: remarkable women, dangerous women, kind women. Women who make you angry and women who’ve left their mark. Women you have a story about: a true story, an unbelievable story. A story that we should all hear, that deserves witness, that the world should remember. (Metro Arts website, 2020). The performance is situated within the field of feminist performance, and focuses on representation, in particular, challenging cultural stereotyping of older women on stage. Whilst there is a “wide range and many dimensions of age performance being realized in the contemporary canon” (Lipscomb 2019, p177), there are still fewer roles for older women and the assumption that women are represented as ‘elderly’ at 60. This is part of a broader discourse of patriarchal representation of women in Australian theatre noted in seminal feminist Australian theatre text, Dolls Revolution: Australian Theatre and Cultural Imagination (Fensham and Varney,2005). Ageist gendered stereotypes were addressed in the piece asking the audience to ponder the dilemma of an overly qualified, highly skilled actor with no vehicle for expression. This biographical, ethnography pertained as much to me as performer as to a broader group of Actors in the same category. This formed an initial enquiry into research on the experience of older actresses, which I intend to explore further through ongoing enquiry. The critical reception of the work was strong: “That’s What She Said’ stands as testament to the mantra of truth being more entertaining than fiction” Meredith Walker. Blue Curtains Brisbane. Feb 13. 2020.