Dressing Room • Bissane Al-Charif Hala Omran Waël Ali

Postmenopausal women speak out. An intimate chorus on a subject that has yet to be fully explored by the theatre. Postmenopausal women speak out. An intimate chorus on a subject that has yet to be fully explored by the theatre. Alone on stage, French-Syrian actress and singer Hala Omran tells her story while preparing a plant-based recipe that is supposed to help her overcome ‘the age of despair’. What does the menopause do to women’s bodies and lives? The first production by Syrian-Palestinian scenographer Bissane Al-Charif opens up a space for discussion, part laboratory and part women’s circle. In this piece, which combines singing and personal stories, women from Arab countries – friends and strangers from either side of the Mediterranean – share their confidences. Hormonal symptoms, a failing memory and mood swings are sometimes compounded by a loss of bearings triggered by political upheavals or wars. At once subtle and committed, the show highlights with great humour the disruptions caused by a stage of life that all women go through.