An enriching story full of heart and wit, The Weekend thoughtfully contemplates and broadens our perceptions of the experience of aging as a woman.

Adele, Wendy, Jude and Sylvie have known each other for decades. But when Sylvie dies, and the remaining three come together on the one-year anniversary of her passing to pack up her beach house, with only Wendy’s elderly dog to keep them company, their Christmas is looking pretty bleak. Until they learn that at any age friends will keep secrets and make some terrible mistakes, but still stand by each other.

In adapting Charlotte Woods’ novel for the stage, writer Sue Smith and director Sarah Goodes have truly captured the feeling of staying at the beach; time doesn’t really work the same because you decide your movements by the tide and temperature and do you darnedest to ignore any demands waiting for you back in the real world. Cinematic sound by Steve Francis and Madeline Picard invokes waves lapping on the shore, the leaky roof dripping into the house, and the Pink Floyd-esque music, floaty and synthed, transports us into a place outside of the here and now.

As women age they are too often seen as less-than; actresses aged 30 play 50 year olds, older women without children deemed to have something wrong with them. Woods characters break this narrative. Wendy, Adele and Jude are complex women leading vastly different lives. Each are afraid of dying without feeling as though they’ve lived a full life and all three wonder if their friends are the ones who have it figured out.

Wendy, played by Melita Jurisic, is a flaky academic and fierce feminist, unable to let go of her sickly dog because he reminds her of her late husband’s journey through illness. Adele, performed by Belinda Giblin, has dedicated her life to acting but has been out of work for two years. Her increasingly desperate attempts to bond with famous director Joe Gillespie, performed by Roman Delo, who happens to be spending his weekend at the same beach, painfully illustrate her struggle as she realises his perspective of her is less ‘leading lady’ and more ‘batty old actress.’ Toni Scanlan’s Jude is a successful restaurateur, now retired but still a bit of a control freak. Her judgemental attitude towards her friends hides crippling insecurities about the tenuous nature of relationships in her personal life.

And then there’s Wendy’s dog, an elderly, incontinent, dementia-ridden pup called Finn, puppeteered by Keila Terencio. Puppetry isn’t super common on Aussie stage and it took a minute for the audience to warm up, but Terencio’s portrayal of Finn and the integral role he played in reminding the women of their mortality, the importance of empathy and difficulty in loss audibly grew on the audience through the show.

Contemplative but not slow, teaching important messages but not preachy, The Weekend reminds us that as long as we’re aging, we owe it to ourselves to live.

Purchase your ticket to The Weekend here.

Gewurztraminer | Wine Pairing

Gewurtz is a varietal that stands out for its acidity and flavours of rose and peach, reminiscent of following my Nana around her garden and eating ice-cream with tinned fruit for dessert in her kitchen.

The Weekend, Belvoir St Theatre | Tasting Notes

Aussie Season	5 Aug to 12 Sept 2023, Belvoir St Theatre
Ticket $	$50-93
Writer	Based on the novel by Charlotte Wood, adapted by Sue Smith
Director	Sarah Goodes
Theatre Type & Genre	Play, Drama
See it if you like	Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Wine Country
Wine Pairing	Gewurtztraminer
Criteria for Wine Pairing	off-dry, light and sweet