It's been a while since I've walked into a room of hundreds of women. Subscribe now for unlimited access . Login or signup to continue reading In fact, maybe the last time was almost exactly a year ago when I reviewed the showing of Dirty Dancing at Anita's Theatre.
There, the vibe was excitement and the thrill of a night out with your friends (and Patrick Swayze). It was different at Wollongong Town Hall on Friday, October 18. The venue was packed out for the Menopausal Night Out, presented by comedian Judith Lucy and author Kaz Cooke, but there were nerves in the air.
Yes, we were up for a good time with our female friends. As Lucy pointed out to one mortified audience member as she returned from a sneaky visit to the bar only to find the lights on and Lucy prowling the rows for victims - some of us were there just for the wine. But most of all, we were there to find out more about something that affects 51 per cent of the population, yet doctors only receive an hour of training throughout their years of training at medical school.
From the start, Lucy made sure it was a literal light on conversation. Going into warm-up act mode, she stalked the audience looking for people to become the butt of her well-rehearsed jokes, but also quickly building trust with a room of flighty individuals, anxious to know more about how their bodies work, yet held back by centuries of shame. Comedian Chris Ryan was next up, settling the nerves with some good old-fashioned women's humour before.