After a 23-year hiatus, double cancer survivor and previous Moosehead Award Recipient Katrina Mathers (The Wedge, Flipside, Footy Chicks) now returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Mathers had every intention of doing more shows from there, but, she says, life. You know.
“Then when my fella and I decided to set up a house together, he bought us a fancy new Dyson vacuum, coz we were grown-ups… I hated it so much, but I thought, “Ahh, I think I have an idea for a new show.” Then, you know. More life. Mortgage. Child. Travel. Business. Cancer. Covid. Aging Parents. Stuff. You know. Another fifteen years or so went by. And now, bang, menopause. I’ve slammed into it hard, and it’s changed my perception of things.
Handily, Mathers is on long service leave, so on a whim, she bought a hot pink suit, dug out her old notes about the vacuum, phoned a bunch of female writers she knows to ask if they’d let her perform some excellent pieces she’d seen of theirs, as part of one big show. Everyone said yes, then Roz Hammond said yes to directing it, we’ve sculpted a bunch of stories of my own to link everything together.”
So how long, then, was initial concept to finished piece?
“Let’s skip that 23-year break and all the stuff that happened during that time and I’ll share my honest timeline for this show. So, I had some long service leave approved for my 3-day weekday job and spoke to my bosses about timing. Hmmm, that’s when the comedy festival is on! Hmmm. Most people go traveling when they’re on long service leave, but I thought no, I think I want to do a show about peri menopause, a vacuum cleaner, and a story about a cheese boob.
In September last year, I texted Roz Hammond to see if she’d come on board in some capacity, possibly to direct, because she’s amazing (and she also directed the MICF show Fiona Harris and I did 23 years ago, Footy Chicks) and held my breath. She texted back within seconds and said, “I’m in!”
Then I contacted my photographer mate Brent Lukey to see if he’d take some PR pics for me, coz you generally come up with the show title and a poster image long before you get the guts of the show into order. He said yes, and again, on a bit of a whim, I found a woman in the Ukraine who hand-makes these fabulous three-piece-suits, and well, that started me off.
In terms of the content and inspirational moments for that – to be honest, there have been a bunch of things that I’ve noticed I do now, like put the kettle in the fridge (part of my rapidly-evolving brain) and I thought, maybe I could make a comedy festival show talking about things like this, or more to the point, if I don’t make a comedy festival show talking about things like this, I’m just going to have to spend more time crying. And looking for the kettle.”
Anyone who knows Mathers knows she juggles a lot of stuff.
“I have my fingers in many pies, so to speak. But I also think it’s a female, particularly a working mum thing, to say yes to everything. To try to do everything, and be everything to everyone, all the time. And it’s fun but also exhausting. There never seems to be a moment to sit still. Meditate or say, I can’t. I can’t close my eyes and enjoy silence, because all I can ever hear is my inner voice getting louder and more anxious, because now I’ll have even less time to fill in my daughter’s school form, lodge my tax return, check in on mum, or eek out five days in my calendar to get to a vegan silence-retreat in Bali.”
And what does Mathers want out of the whole experience? Well, she wants others who also have love-hate relationships with their Dyson vacuum cleaners to come clean.
“Pardon the pun. To come out, speak about it. We know therapy works. It helps to talk about it and find community. And then there’s the menopause stuff.
So, I think I’m part of the first generation of women talking about menopause, and man, aren’t we getting into it. You’ve heard of the “We Do Not Care Club”, right? My show isn’t a dump of whinging though, but rather a reflection on how every single one of us has garbage to work through, and so it’s up to us as to how we choose to deal with that stuff.
And then, also there’s the world and all the horrific news we must find a way to manage daily. The harder things get, the more I feel the need to laugh. And to try and make others do the same.”
23 years is a long time between drinks (or gigs) so how is Mathers feeling about appearing on stage again?
“Well, my pants are bit tighter, but I still have that same energy and enthusiasm for performance that I’ve always had.
I never really meant to step back from performing. See first paragraph, Life. The difference this time is I have a daughter, she’s 15 and she gets embarrassed if I so much as dance in the kitchen, let alone get up on stage and talk about my dry vagina.”
The relationship between Mathers and director Roz Hammond is clearly based on mutual respect and fondness with Mathers describing Hammond as an angel.
“I had the pleasure of working with her on Footy Chicks and we’ve crossed paths as actors on other productions over the years, but I remember how grounded and clear she was during Footy Chicks in terms of her feedback. She sees through crap, she knows when to say stop, take a beat there etc. and suddenly something that half made sense in my head, is now a script and even I think “oh yeah, you’re right, that is funny. If I say it like that.”
Roz also runs anxiety workshops for performers because over the years she’s developed this methodology to manage her own anxiety, and I can tell that she’s got my back there. I had a dream early on in our rehearsals, when I’d been dragging my feet about consolidating and writing some of my notes into script form, and it was just Roz saying to me “It’s not that hard Kat, you’ve just got to do the work. If you do the work, it will be fine.” And now we have this super fun show of crazy stories about women in all kinds of phases of life, and there’s no way I could have done this without her. Well, maybe, but I’m proud to have done it with her support. In some ways I feel like if I can make Roz laugh, then that’s going to be a win for me. Or if my daughter likes the show and isn’t too embarrassed to walk down the street with me. Hopefully both.”
Over the years Katrina has been involved with the well-known Madwomen’s Monologues as both a writer and an actor, in fact, it was the Madwomen’s Monologues that kicked off her self described slow move back into both performing and writing.
“I’d heard about the Madwomen’s Monologues over the years but never managed to make it along. I remember thinking “oh how I’d love to be a part of something like that. Sounds right up my alley.” So, when I saw an audition callout in 2018 for actors, I threw my hat in the ring. I auditioned with a pretty funny piece to a room of writers and directors, some I knew, most I didn’t. They laughed, I had a ball, and I was offered a role in a mind-blowingly wild piece called Mongrel Bitch Having an Identity Crisis by Clare Bowen. That year they also selected a piece I’d written called Still Water but writers don’t perform their own pieces. This young actor called Liliana Dalton was cast and she just blew us all out of the water (pun intended). She was utterly mesmerising and I couldn’t have thought of a better choice. She brought my writing to life in a way that I had only hoped. I was hooked.
I went on to perform in a few other monologues over the years and another piece that was performed at Madwomen’s called Holes in My Sunhat – originally performed by Isabella Gilbert, also features in my MICF show.
When I was thinking about doing this show, I really wanted to showcase some of the incredible female writers we have in Australia – women I’d come to discover during my involvement with Madwomen’s. I contacted Bridgette Burton, one of the founders and said, “Hey, if I did a comedy festival show featuring some of the funnier pieces about women in various stages of their lives from Madwomen’s over the years, do you think you could help put me in touch with everyone.” Long story short, I’m doing one of Bridgette’s pieces. The other writers who have come on board are Samantha Hill, Jude Bridge, Kate Rotherham, Jayne Sharp (UK) and Melissa Tagliamonte (USA)”
Melbourne International Comedy Festival celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and, says Mathers, it is one of her favourite times of the year.
“We’ve let go of all the Christmas stress, Easter Holidays are on the way, the Autumn leaves start turning and the nights are cooler – it’s such a great time to get out and see shows. Hang out in bars and chat to other fabulous folk. There’s nothing like meeting some mates after work with a 6pm session (mine for example), 7pm dinner in Collingwood or the CBD, another 9pm show, drinks at one of Melbourne’s iconic I-didn’t-know-there-was-a-bar-behind-that-door-bars, then catch a late-night tasting-plate kind of wild-card show before you head home. The best. ”
As a writer and actor, Mathers is drawn to anything that mixes comedy and pathos. She admits to this sounding kind of clichéd, but she loves characters who are real, or instantly recognisable and are often struggling in a big way with small problems. “And because I’m playing a few different characters in my show, I’ve had to really find ways to differentiate them, so it’s been fun trying to push myself in a few different directions.”
Now heading back into the MICF scrum, comedy lovers are invited to join Mathers on a fun, honest and chaotic journey of navigating the wonders of menopause. Older, hotter, funnier. Bring a fan.
Oh, and Anything But The Dyson and Other Excellent Monologues is also in no way endorsed by the manufacturers of Dyson vacuum cleaners. Yet.
Says Mathers, “I’ve made sure the show is okay (give or take a swear word or two) for my daughter and her friends to see, and easy enough to follow so that my mum will be able to come along – but I think if you have a bunch of girlfriends, particularly if you’re in the throes of peri menopause yourself, you’ll want to round them up, get out to see my show at 6pm, have a drink or five in the bar there at Trainscendence, and then roll home and be in bed by 9pm. Perfect.
I did a trial run of the show with a handful of trusted friends and a bloke said to me, “I think you should target the show at the fellas who are dating older women. Because I just learned heaps about what my partner is probably going through with all this, and I also thought it was hilarious”. So, bring your fellas too. And for anyone who wears hot pink (a LOT of hot pink) – there are door prizes for you! I think it’s going to be a super fun night. And the venue is fabulous too. You’ll love it.”
March 26 – April 19
Bookings: via www.katrinamathers.actor
