The international hit show, Menopause The Musical will be set in Marks & Spencer’s flagship Marble Arch store for its London season at The Shaw Theatre. Menopause The Musical will open in London at The Shaw Theatre on Tuesday, 27 March 2007, starring Miquel Brown, Samantha Hughes, Su Pollard and Amanda Symonds. 

There will be a Charity Gala to benefit The Women’s Health Concern on April 12.

Menopause The Musical, an international smash hit from the United States to Canada, Australia, South Africa, Israel, Italy and New Zealand is coming to London on 27 March 2007, and will be in The Shaw Theatre on London’s Euston Road. Seen by over 8.7 million women (and the men who love them) in 110 cities and 9 countries, the show is a phenomenon which has been entertaining and inspiring women since 2001.

It all begins with four women: “Power Woman” (Miquel Brown), “Soap Star” (Samantha Hughes), “Rutland Housewife” (Su Pollard) and “Earth Mother” (Amanda Symonds) at the Marks & Spencer Marble Arch lingerie sale with nothing in common but a black lace bra and hot flushes, night sweats, memory loss, chocolate binges, not enough sex, too much sex, and day-to-day challenges with aging parents, aging children and aging partners! 

The women sing and dance their way through the different departments. The show's set recreates the new M&S look and the MTM cast will be dressed in the store's latest collections. 

“We are delighted to be associated with Marks & Spencer,” said the show’s creator and producer, Jeanie Linders. “Generations of women have shopped at M&S and I am thrilled that our show will be set in a store and linked with an organisation that is so close to British women’s hearts. I cannot think of a more appropriate location anywhere in the world.”

A joyful parody of 25 re-lyricised classic Baby Boomer hits, the 90 minute show features chart-toppers including “I Heard It Through The Grapevine You No Longer See 39” and the Motown favourite, “My Thighs”. Written by American Jeanie Linders, it is a hilarious and touching celebration of life after 40, 50 and beyond. 

Menopause The Musical will be hosting the Women’s Health Concern Charity Gala Performance on Thursday, 12 April 2007. For more information on how you can see this international sensation and join the fun, go to the website Menopausethemusical.com. 

[ Source: www.easier.com - 27th March 2007 ]

Alan Strong of the Global Strong Trust announced "We have finalised the auction as 2 x Brit Awards Fleeces, Strictly Come Dancing's Anton Du Beke and Erin Boag Dual signed photo, Joanna Lumley signed Ab Fab Photo, Su Pollard signed CD, and John Barrowman mounted photo with signed questionaire card. It's a great opportunity to get hold of some exclusive pieces and support the amazing work done by the Midweek Group for gay men living with HIV and AIDS."

Bernard Forbes, Chairman of the UKC said "We are delighted that the Global Strong Trust are holding another auction for Midweek Group. We would like to thank them for their continuing support in ensuring Midweek is secured for the foreseable future."

The auction will be open for 10 days, commencing on Friday 27th April 2007at http://stores.ebay.co.uk/thestrongtrust. 

[ Source: www.gay.com - March 2007 ]

Epilepsy Action has launched a campaign to encourage sufferers to keep a diary of symptoms and discuss the findings with their doctor. 

Actress Su Pollard and Nottingham South MP Alan Simpson are backing the East Midlands campaign. 

It follows a survey of epilepsy patients in the region, which revealed that three quarters felt that their quality of life had been affected by the condition.

[ Source: www.theraputicsdaily.co.uk - March 2007 ]

John and Su were good friends. He will be sadly missed by her and comedy fans all over the world. A sad loss.

Frederick John Inman was born on 28 June, 1935, in Preston, Lancashire. 

At the age of 13 he appeared at the South Pier in Blackpool and he went on to make hundreds of stage and screen appearances. 

Inman's West End debut was in the musical Ann Veronica at the Cambridge Theatre, followed by a stint as Lord Fancourt Babberley in Charley's Aunt at the Adelphi Theatre. 

But he also performed in more than 40 pantomimes and was one of the country's best-loved pantomime dames. 

Are You Being Served? began life as part of the BBC's Comedy Playhouse strand. But disruption to the 1972 Munich Olympics meant it was moved to fill gaps in the prime time schedule. 

Are You Being Served? ran for 13 years. He stayed for its entire 13-year run, alongside Wendy Richard.

More recently, he returned to the BBC for Revolver, a 2004 sketch show in which he played an antiques-shop owner who got carried away when explaining the history of objects for sale. 

It has hosted all the greats from Laurence Olivier to Ingrid Bergman and Richard Burton. But now it is time for Brighton's Theatre Royal to bask in its own limelight.

Celebrities, actors, directors and writers assembled from across the country yesterday to wish the 200-year-old venue a happy birthday.

They attended the launch party for a series of events to mark the bicentenary of the Theatre Royal, in New Road.

Theatre Royal chief executive Julien Boast said: "This theatre was built in an incredible amount of time - about eight to ten months - and it opened with Charles Kemble playing Hamlet.

Su Pollard, of Hi Di Hi fame, said: "I know it sounds funny but I love the smell of this theatre. It is an interesting place and so old.

"I think I must have been on stage here at least once a year for 34 years and it's great to come back - it's like a home from home."

Celebrations continue through the year building up to the theatre's official birthday on June 27, when there will be a street party in New Road.

Before then, there will be world premieres, new productions, exhibitions and specially commissioned shows.

[ Source: www.theargus.co.uk - January 2007 ]

Introducing: Menopause the Musical
Have you put your mobile in the fridge recently? Perhaps you've forgotten your husband's birthday. Maybe you were wide awake at three this morning and had two breakfasts. 

If so, it could be - whisper it softly - that you're entering the silent passage; you're going through 'the change'. 

In which case, away with the euphemisms: Menopause The Musical could be just the thing to cheer you up. 

Universal to women in a way that even having children, being married, getting divorced or losing weight are not - the menopause unites us. Yet we don't talk about it. 

A few media women, such as Germaine Greer and Woman's Hour presenter Jenni Murray, have broken the silence with books, but now we can all sing and dance about it. 

The show, written by American Jeanie Linders is just about to open in London. Featuring 25 songs about the menopause - from Hot Flush, an updated version of Rod Stewart's Hot Legs, to Stayin' Awake! Stayin' Awake!, a remake of the Bee Gees disco hit - they're all tunes anyone over 40 knows. 

Actress Su Pollard, who plays one of the musical's four women in mid-life crisis, loves them all. 

"Sweats, flushes and the end of your periods are just a few of the things you go through," says Su, who became a household name after playing Peggy Ollerenshaw in Hi-de-Hi and is now - astonishingly - 57. 

She chose to take HRT at the onset of her own menopause but hasn't been immune from all the symptoms. 

"When you're going through it, you can stand on the edge of the pavement and not be able to make up your mind whether to cross or not. You dither. You feel dizzy and you eat odd things at odd times of the day. I've put my handbag in the oven before now. 

"All this goes on and nobody talks about it. People pretend it's not happening, even to their friends. 

The action starts at a lingerie counter during the sales. The four women are all interested in the same black lace bra. As is only natural in the parallel universe of the musical, they soon break into song and go from department to department exchanging stories and songs about their menopause experiences. They're a varied lot - a mousey housewife, a career woman, a soap star and an earth mother - but they're all going through the same thing. 

Their bodies are behaving in a new and unfamiliar way which they can't control. 

Su plays a housewife from Rutland, all apologies, sexual disappointment and self-effacement. 

"My character would like to be Prada but is more Primark," she says. "I spend a lot of time clutching my purse to my chest. She doesn't sound like me, but she's an aspect of many women, me included. 

"You can get so tired and indecisive in the menopause. You go from being thoroughly in charge to hardly being able to decide what to do next. But the menopause is a done deal. You can't get out of it." 

Su is a Vagina Monologues veteran and feels strongly that women need to re-write the menopause story. 

"We have a finale where everyone comes out looking terrific - we've shopped our way round the store. So we're saying: 'Yes, we've got mood swings and we can't remember what we did with the groceries, but don't we look great?' 

"A long time ago, male doctors and writers gave women the idea that once your reproductive life was over, life itself might as well be over. What was the point of non-reproductive women? And women with bad symptoms could end up in an asylum. 

"So this silence descends and a sort of secret competition goes on among your friends not to be the one who goes into the menopause first," says Su, who keeps trim with Pilates and brisk walks. 

"Well, I'm not finished, I'm just hormonally challenged. And if you come through this without stacking on loads of weight, you feel liberated and good about yourself." 

[ News Source: 'Daily Mail' - February 2007 ]

Starring Miquel Brown, Samantha Hughes, Su Pollard & Amanda Symonds

Menopause The Musical (MTM) which has been a smash hit from the United States to Canada, Australia and New Zealand, is coming to London on 27 March 2007, opening at The Shaw Theatre in London’s Euston Road. Seen by over 8.7 million women (and the men that love them) in 110 cities and 9 countries, the show is an phenomenon which has been entertaining and inspiring women since 2001. Written by American Jeanie Linders, it is an hilarious and touching celebration of life after 40, 50 and beyond.

It all begins with four women, ‘Power Woman’ (Miquel Brown), ‘Soap Star’ (Samantha Hughes), ‘Rutland Housewife’ (Su Pollard) and ‘Earth Mother’ (Amanda Symonds), at a lingerie sale with nothing in common but a black lace bra - and hot flushes, night sweats, memory loss, chocolate binges, not enough sex, too much sex and day-to-day challenges with aging parents, aging children and aging partners! A joyful parody of 25 re-lyricized classic baby boomer hits, the 90-minute show features chart-toppers including "I Heard It Thru the Grapevine You No Longer See 39" and the Motown favourite "My Thighs”.

MTM has encouraged a healthy dialogue about the issues of aging and women’s health. As Linders herself says, “The show has become a point of relating, an event, a celebration of a life passage that launches women into a new exciting phase of their lives. Most women know intuitively what every other woman is facing with the onset of the menopause. They talk about it with their friends and, on occasion with their spouses. But, when they are in a theatre with hundreds of women, and they’re all shouting ‘That’s Me!’ then they know what they are experiencing is normal. They call it a sisterhood!” 

Miquel Brown is a successful recording artist, having been voted No.5 in the Top Ten Female Vocalists in the World by Billboard Magazine. Alongside a busy schedule of film and television appearances, her theatre credits include Street Car Named Desire and Darker Face of Earth (both at the National Theatre), Fame (Cambridge), Sweet Lorraine (Fire Station Theatre), Bubbling Brown Sugar (Royalty), and Hair (Her Majesty’s/Queens Theatre). 

Samantha Hughes’ theatre credits most recently include Gentle Hook, Present Laughter and Table Manners, as well as leading roles as ‘Sheila’ in A Chorus Line and ‘Mrs Lyons’ in Bill Kenwright’s production of Blood Brothers in both the West End and Toronto.

Su Pollard first appeared on our television screens playing ‘Flo’ in the BBC’s Two Up, Two Down but is of course best known for playing ‘Peggy Ollerenshaw’ in Hi De Hi! As well as national tours of Grease, Sweet Charity, The Pirates of Penzance, and West End productions of Godspell and Me and My Girl, Su has starred in a number of plays such as See How They Run, A Happy Medium and Vagina Monologues. Su has most recently taken to the stage to make her Shakespearian début in the Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s production of Romeo and Juliet.

Amanda Symonds has most recently appeared as ‘Mrs Corry’ in Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward Theatre and ‘Hepzibah Green’ in Carrie’s War (Sadler’s Wells). Other notable theatre credits include As You Like It, Romeo & Juliet (National Theatre) and Midnight Hour (Young Vic Theatre). 

Menopause The Musical® opened in Orlando, Florida in 2001 and has now been seen in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Italy, Korea, Malaysia and The Philippines. The production has broken box office records all over the world and set records for long runs in many cities. Now playing in Orlando for its sixth season, MTM will re-open Off Broadway in New York in March and in Israel in February. 

Menopause The Musical® will be presented in the UK by Jeanie Linders for TAP Productions Ltd. “I am delighted to be able to present Menopause The Musical in London,” Jeanie Linders said today. “We have had so many emails from British women who have seen the show in Australia and the United States in which they urge me to bring it to London. So, ladies, here we come! We are thrilled to have secured the modern Shaw Theatre for our UK premiere. With its comfortable seating, excellent sight lines, first class transport links, not to mention state of the art air-conditioning, the Shaw is the ideal venue for the show.”.

www.menopausethemusical.com

[ News Source: www.digitaldeli.co.uk - February 2007 ]

Is it sensationalist and silly or essential and true? 'Menopause: The Musical' is a show about four women united by ‘hot flushes, night sweats, memory loss, chocolate binges, not enough and too much sex’. Having enjoyed a healthy international run, the musical comes to the British public in March, at the Shaw Theatre, London. Starring Su Pollard and Amanda Symonds, the production is clearly hoping to cause as many blushes as it does belly laughs. We spoke to the show's writer and creative director, Jeanie Linders, to ask her just why we should be paying attention… 

It’s had a very successful international run – 110 cities in 9 countries! We’ve just played all the way round Australia now for about 2 ½ years. My choreographer is in Israel right now working out the Hebrew version of the show. 
We have four wonderful women playing archetypal characters in the show. One of them is an aging soap star, one is a power executive, we’ve got a sixties hippy type and what I’ve learnt you call in England, the Rutland housewife. 

We’re definitely not the Vagina Monologues, so I don’t think accusations of distastefulness or crudeness could be fair. The show is basically about empowering, enlightening and creating dialogue between women, as well as with women and their husbands. Some of our audience will have seen the Vagina Monologues but a lot won’t have simply because they won’t want to say the V word. 

It’s an upbeat and positive show – not simpering or sappy in the least. It’s funny, it’s a point of relationship with our audience which probably explains its success around the world. 

The key is about creating a relationship. It’s about four women shopping who begin fighting over a sale, and suddenly they’re talking to each other and sharing and growing. They share with the audience. It deals with the baby boomer age and their problems. 

Whether it’s the physical symptoms of the menopause or having to deal with our looks going down the drain and not knowing how to handle it, the show itself is about that broader range of issues. 

Ageing for us is far different than it was for our parents generation. We’re living a lot longer, we’re enjoying our lives more. It’s all about the next part of our life as opposed to the last part of our life. 

I don’t know if I see the show as a feminist statement. It depends how you define feminist. It’s not a militant show, it’s just a commentary on the evolution of women. 

Women realise that they’re not alone in what they’re going through. It gives them the feeling that their experiences are shared, they are common with women. I am 58 now, of course I write about what I know. 

People will recognise the songs – it’s Motown, Beach Boys, all baby boomer hits reworded. 

Once the guys get in there they love it. It’s a comedic night for them too – really. Women email me to say they’re taking their husbands to explain to them what they’re going through. 

Menopause: The Musical opens at The Shaw Theatre, 100-110 Euston Road, London, NW1 2AJ on March 27th 2007. Call 0870 033 2600 for ticket information or visit www.menopausethemusical.com

[ News Source: www.livingit.com - February 2007 ]

Menopause – The Musical will play at London’s Shaw Theatre. The cast features Miquel Brown, Samantha Hughes, Su Pollard and Amanda Symonds. The revue will begin performances on 27 March and open on 18 April. 

Brown’s theatre credits include A Streetcar Named Desire and Darker Face of Earth (at the National), Fame (Cambridge), Sweet Lorraine (Old Fire Station, Oxford), Bubbling Brown Sugar (Royalty) and Hair (Her Majesty’s/Queen’s Theatre). She is best known for a recording career that saw her voted number five in the Top 10 Female Vocalists in the World by Billboard Magazine. Hughes has appeared as Mrs. Lyons in Blood Brothers in the West End and Toronto and has appeared in tours of Gentle Hook, Present Laughter and Table Manners.  Pollard is best known for her TV role as Peggy Ollerenshaw in the long-running series Hi De Hi! She appeared onstage in national tours of Grease, Sweet Charity and The Pirates of Penzance and West End productions of Godspell and Me and My Girl. She has also appeared onstage in See How They Run, A Happy Medium and The Vagina Monologues. Symonds was most recently seen as Mrs. Corny in Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward Theatre and in Carrie’s War at Sadlers’ Wells. Other credits include Zipp! (Duchess Theatre), As You Like It and Romeo and Juliet (National Theatre) and Midnight Hour (Young Vic). 

Menopause – the Musical, by Jeanie Linders, centers on four women who meet at a lingerie sale and have nothing in common apart from a black bra—and hot flushes, night sweats, memory loss, chocolate binges, not enough sex, too much sex and the day-to-day challenges of aging parents, children and partners. The show features 25 classic Baby Boomer hits that have been equipped with new lyrics, including “I Heard It Thru the Grapevine You No Longer See 39” and the Motown favourite “My Thighs.” 

“I am delighted to be able to present Menopause –The Musical in London,” Linders, who is producing the London production, said in a statement. “We have had so many emails from British women who have seen the show in Australia and the United States in which they urge me to bring it to London. So, ladies, here we come!” 

Menopause – The Musical has been seen in 110 cities and nine countries since it premiered in Orlando, Florida in 2001.

[ News Source: www.theatre.com - January 2007 ]

Take four women coming up to that time of life, some great songs from the Sixties and Seventies and tweak the lyrics to reflect the subject matter and you have the 90-minute Menopause the Musical, written by Jeanie Linders. Since 2001, it has been seen by an amazing 8.7 million people in 110 cities in nine countries, but only now finds its way to London for a season at the Shaw Theatre starring Miquel Brown, Samantha Hughes, Sue Pollard and Amanda Symonds.
Among the 21 songs you'll find I Heard It Through the Grapevine, You'll No Longer See 39, Stayin' Awake, Stayin' Awake and My Thighs, sung by the four ladies who happen to bump into each other at a lingerie sale in a big department store (originally Bloomingdales).

Over a black lace bra we meet a power woman (Miquel Brown), a soap star (Samantha Hughes), Rutland housewife (Su Pollard) and an Earth Mother (Amanda Symonds) who find they have hot flushes, night sweats, memory loss and chocolate binges in common. In short - it's "The Change" - and they demystify it by singing about it.

One wonders if this musical therapy should be available on the National Health!

[ News Source: www.skyteam.com - January 2007 ]

'Heat' and 'Star' magazine have both featured Su in selection of her more "outlandish" and "unique" outfits in recent issues.

And 'Glamour' magazine have also been asking visitors to their website what they think of our Su's style.

We are currently in the process of moving servers and the process has proved slightly trickier than first anticipated. In the meantime we are using a temporary url to keep you updated.

Please be reassured that the Official Su Pollard website isn't closing and will be avaialble at its own domain again soon as we approach our seventh year bringing you Su news and features.

A celebration of life after 40, 50 and beyond. It all begins with four women, 'Power Woman', 'Soap Star', 'Rutland Housewife' and 'Earth Mother', at a lingerie sale with nothing in common but a black lace bra - and hot flushes, night sweats, memory loss, chocolate binges, not enough sex, too much sex and day-to-day challenges with aging parents, aging children and aging partners! A joyful parody of 25 re-lyricized classic baby boomer hits, the 90-minute show features chart-toppers including 'I Heard It Thru the Grapevine You No Longer See 39' and the Motown favourite 'My Thighs'. 

Previews from 27th Mar 2007 
Opens 18th Apr 2007 
Booking to 25th Aug 2007 
Closes 25th Aug 2007 
Times: Tues - Sat 7.30, Mats Thur, Fri, Sun at 2.30pm 

The Shaw Theatre 
100-110 Euston Road
Inner London
Greater London
NW1 2AJ 
www.theshawtheatre.com/new/
Tel: 0870 033 2600

A cast led by Su Pollard aims to repeat the American success of the show, which began life in Florida in 2001 and was written by Jeanie Linders. 

The show centres on four women, Earth Mother, Soap Star, Power Woman and Rutland Housewife, who meet at a lingerie sale. It tackles themes such as hormone replacement therapy and chocolate binges with send-ups of pop songs. 

The lyrics of Tight Fit’s The Lion Sleeps Tonight have been changed to: "In the guest room or on the sofa, my husband sleeps tonight," while Motown classic My Guy now features the refrain: "Nothing I can do, ’cos it sticks like glue to my thighs." 

Pollard, who made her name in TV sitcom Hi-De-Hi!, said: "Hot flushes and night sweats aren’t the half of it. We’re aiming to show that women should embrace the menopause and you’ve got loads of life left in you, so enjoy it. 

"The show reveals the emotional effects of the menopause. When they see it, men will understand why women have been biting their head off all these years." 

• Menopause The Musical opens at The Shaw Theatre in Euston on 7 March. Tickets are available online by visiting www.menopausethemusical.com 

[ News Source: www.dailymail.co.uk - 11th January 2007 ]

A cast led by Su Pollard aims to repeat the American success of the show, which began life in Florida in 2001 and was written by Jeanie Linders. 

The show centres on four women, Earth Mother, Soap Star, Power Woman and Rutland Housewife, who meet at a lingerie sale. It tackles themes such as hormone replacement therapy and chocolate binges with send-ups of pop songs. 

The lyrics of Tight Fit's The Lion Sleeps Tonight have been changed to: "In the guest room or on the sofa, my husband sleeps tonight," while Motown classic My Guy now features the refrain: " Nothing I can do, 'cos it sticks like glue to my thighs." 

Pollard, who made her name in TV sitcom Hi-De-Hi!, said: "Hot flushes and night sweats aren't the half of it. 

"We're aiming to show that women should embrace the menopause and you've got loads of life left in you, so enjoy it. The show reveals the emotional effects of the menopause. When they see it, men will understand why women have been biting their head off all these years." 

[ News Source: This Is London/Evening Standard - 11th January 2007 ]

When Jeanie Linders reached middle age, she suffered a hot flush that was to change her life. It inspired Menopause the Musical. 

The show she wrote and produced has been seen by 8.7 million women in nine countries since it premiered in Florida six years ago. Now it is coming to Britain.

Following in the wake of The Vagina Monologues and Grumpy Old Women, which have both attracted big female audiences, Menopause the Musical will open on 27 March at the Shaw Theatre.

Su Pollard, former star of Hi Di Hi! heads the cast in a production which adapts songs such as "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" to the perils of night sweats, memory loss, chocolate binges and insufficient sex.

Linders said 95 per cent of her audiences werewomen, though some brought their husbands or children "to make them understandwhat they're going through". She added: "I think people relate to what's on stage because we laugh at things when we're really laughing at ourselves. It's our version of HRT [hormone replacement therapy], humour relief therapy."

Linders, now 58, ran an advertising agency and was a travel writer until the hot flush that propelled her into theatre. "I only ever had two hot flushes but this one happened to be when I was dressed to the nines for a night out," she recalled.

Finding herself trying to cool herself in the refrigerator and singing Rod Stewart songs, she decided there might be potential in the scenario. "Most women know intuitively what every other woman is facing with the onset of the menopause," she said. "But when they are in a theatre with hundreds of women and they're all shouting, 'That's me!' they know what they are experiencing is normal. They call it a sisterhood."

[ News Source: www.independent.co.uk - 11th January 2007 ]