Hot Flush

Washington Theatre Group again struck gold with an uproariously funny and hugely entertaining  production of Julie Benson’s musical Hot Flush. As one can ascertain from the Title the show deals with the issue of the menopause  and takes a highly comical an irreverent approach to the subject .It took cast and audience alike through the issue and its side effects, on the back of a whirlwind of excellent comedic timing and humour  from the cast interlaced with some clever and poignant musical numbers from the pen of Ollie Ashmore  cleverly interpreted by Tim Jasper at the keyboard.

It tells the story of  The Hot Flush Club  a group of four women who meet every Tuesday to share and recount how they are affected by the issue and everyday life in general , the problems they have both individually and  collectively ,what they wish and dream for and what they actually achieve. 

It was a challenge for Director Angela Marshall and the multi talented cast of five to bring this to life, but with great support from the Group, fine staging and excellent costumes, sound effects and  lighting  she ensured  we had a fine show to watch.  This was Angela’s second foray into the world of directing and her first musical and she can be justifiably proud of her efforts.
However no matter how good the show or directing ability this may not have worked if the cast  were not up to it. Luckily the  Group  have talent in abundance.

The Hot Flush Club were made up of Myra a feisty  barrister, Helen who still mourns for her recently deceased husband, Sylvia who uses her recent discovery  of HRT to her sexual benefit  and Jessica a somewhat nervy and unsure character who eventually finds her true self. These roles were played by the immensely gifted and talented character actors Emma Simpson, Sarah Clark Joanne McLennon  and Ingrid Middleton respectively  and their faultless performances were matched by some fine singing . The “Man” in the Show was played by Matt Lowe  Playing what I counted to be fifteen  roles   with  different accents  With changes of costume every few minutes (some of which left little to the imagination) and throwing  some singing and movement into the mix must have placed a tremendous strain and workload on him, but this seasoned performer  came up trumps with a super performance.

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