One of the most frustrating parts of going through menopause is the sense of feeling invisible at the same time as feeling like you are carrying the weight of the world. When Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright started experiencing this during her own menopause journey, she felt compelled to rewrite the historical clichés that have followed women in midlife for a new BBC drama. In Riot Women, the writer and producer brings together five women of a certain age who are dealing with the stresses and strains of midlife to create a rock band, giving them an outlet to rage about the injustices of life at the local talent contest, all while trying to keep the show on the road at home.
© BBCThe trailer for the light-hearted drama sees Beth, played by Joanna Scanlan, taps into a whole generation of Second Act women who are juggling family life, careers and ageing parents while trying to maintain some semblance of themselves. "Don't you ever feel like you are living in an alternative universe? Where women of a certain age become invisible. Just when you finally think 'I've got it sorted', (you are dealing with) midlife crisis husbands, difficult parents and your child is still doing your head in," she says.
Talking to younger rockers about the band, she adds: "We're riot women, we sing songs about middle age, and menopause and we're more or less invisible… And you thought The Clash were angry!" Watch the trailer for the show below...
While the drama follows a group of women at various stages of menopause, Sally says the show is broader than that, providing a snapshot of life as a whole during that time of a woman's life. "For me personally, it's things like elderly parents who start to need you more than you need them, marriages breaking down, adult children that still need some support, demands at work – so you're being pulled in lots of different directions and in the middle of all of that, you're having the menopause and you're feeling like you're disappearing. I wanted to try and write about that but in a way that's positive, uplifting, and about claiming your life back."
Her challenge was to write how this can make you feel but in an uplifting way – which is where the unlikely forming of a rock band comes from. "It was the best fun we've ever had," laughs Joanna Scanlon. Much like their characters, Joanna and the stellar line up of Tamsin Greig, Lorraine Ashbourne, Amelia Bullmore and Rosalie Craig, all had to learn their instruments from scratch to give an authentic performance. "There's a major high in playing together as a group of five people and it working. It really does feel good. All that rock god stuff is kind of true, and something to be deeply envious of!"
© CREDIT LINE:BBC / Drama Republic
© CREDIT LINE:BBC / Drama RepublicIn episode one Joanna's character, Beth, is in a dark place and overwhelmed with juggling demands from her son, elderly mother and work, and within all that she feels she's losing her identity. "It's a common experience with menopause that you lose sight of who you are, and at a time in life when you felt like you've got to know who you are, it suddenly all disappears. It slips through your fingers, and I’ve experienced that myself," says writer Sally.
It was her own experience that first sparked the idea for the show 10 years ago. Sally reveals how her mother told her she had "laughed" through her menopause, but that wasn’t the experience Sally had. "[Menopause] was something I hadn't really thought about until it started to happen," she recalls. "Looking back though, I don't think she did laugh her way through it, and I think she was having quite a tough time with it. People just didn't talk about it then, but people are talking about the menopause a lot more now."
With this drama, Sally is hoping to break down outdated misconceptions. "We have very set ideas about the menopause – we think it's just hot flushes and being a bit bad tempered but there's a lot more to it. Kitty, for example, is menopausal and she's only in her early 40s. You can menopause at any age and for a lot of women, HRT can help you at any age, it shouldn't just be for two years when you're absolutely at the end of your tether. We should have more knowledge about menopause and what HRT can do."
© Drama Republic Ltd / Helen WilliamsSally once again uses her empathetic touch in Riot Women. this time to open up important conversations about HRT and the impact menopause can have, not only on the women going through it, but the family as a whole. It is a life-affirming, hilarious, and moving take on women in the second act of their lives - perfect autumn watching.
Riot Women starts BBC1, Sunday 9pm
HELLO! has teamed up with women's health and fitness experts Move The Gap to signpost four key areas of lifestyle medicine that could help you to navigate the menopause minefield: heart health, mobility, muscle and bone strength, and cognitive health. Over the next four weeks, Move The Gap's co-founders, including personal trainer and regular guest on ITV's Lorraine, Shakira Akabusi, Owning Your Menopause author and founder Kate Rowe-Ham, former Gladiator and GB Olympian Jenny Stout, and health and mobility expert Monika Akabusi, will offer expert advice on each area – and you can sign up to receive the free and exclusive series by clicking on the button below.
