Lucy Peach is shifting antiquated menstrual mindsets from shame to pride in her show My Greatest Period Ever.
My Greatest Period Ever, a show by Lucy Peach. Part of the Taranaki Arts Festival Trust Spiegel Fest line-up.
REVIEW
While a show celebrating the menstrual cycle might seem slightly niche, it shouldn’t be.
After all, it’s something that affects us all – those of us with uteruses and those who know someone with one.
That’s the logic the talented, funny and incredibly wise Lucy Peach applies anyway, and after listening to her for just over an hour on the subject, I would agree.
Peach is a talented performer and educator who immediately builds connections with everyone in the audience, men and women alike.
The show starts with her profile in silhouette behind the projector screen. As she sings a song about her first period, her story comes to life through the brilliant cartooning skills of her husband, Richard, who from his chair on the stage is an integral part of the show.
From that personal first song to the final moments of the show, Peach takes the audience on a beautifully explained journey into the world of the menstrual cycle.
In many ways, this is a TED Talk – it’s informative, educational and comes with an important, encouraging and joyful message – that our cycle gives us incredible superpowers if we only pay attention to it – but it’s also so much more than any TED talk I’ve seen.
Peach has a beautiful voice and is a great songwriter, and her original songs throughout the show add another dimension to it all.
As she casually drops truth bomb after truth bomb and hands out chocolate and capes to some audience members, there’s almost a Mexican wave of nods across the room. Everything she says connects with people in the room, either in a sense of “I’m not the only one who feels that“ or “wow, I wish I had known that sooner”.
Those nods aren’t limited to the period-having members of the audience either; Peach has a superpower in being able to connect with everyone in the room, uterus or not, and her messages hit home with everyone.
By the end of the show, everyone is feeling a little bit more of something. A little bit more connected with their cycle or with their partner’s cycle, a little bit more informed, a little bit more empowered, a little bit more angry at how traditional narratives treat our cycles as something taboo or shameful and, without question, a lot more entertained and happy than when we arrived.
Ilona Hanne is a Taranaki-based journalist and news director who covers breaking and community news from throughout the lower North Island. She has worked for NZME since 2011.
