Theatre / “The Threshold”, Wayfarers Australia. At Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, until March 5. Reviewed by SIMONE PENKETHMAN.

“THE Threshold” is a performance of music and words about women’s ageing and end of life.

It is the vision of composer, writer, artists and educator, Judith Clingan, who in early 2021, began interviewing women about their thoughts and lived experience of being older.

Clingan then wrote and composed this show for more than 30 performers including singers, instrumentalists, actors and a dancer. At the centre of the show are four older women who discuss life as people born in the 1940s and living in the 2020s.

For most of the show, Micki Beckett, Gill Christie and Janet Burger perform from the opposite side of stage to the orchestra and choir.

They tell stories that probably emerged as themes in Clingan’s research. There’s wry, humour about waning physical capacity, increasing volume of medications and a creeping sense of social irrelevance.

There’s even joyful relief, as expressed in a passage about deciding what to not do any more.

In front of the orchestra, Alanna Maclean is like a bridge between the actors and the music. Her spoken recitation is powerful and poetic, ranging from Shakespeare to the book of Revelations.

In the centre we see projections of Clingan’s illustrations and key quotes from poetry and lyrics.

In one particularly effective scene, Maclean recites Shakespeare’s “Seven Ages of Man”, while between each line, the three actors on the other side discuss how these stages of man equate to the lives of women.

“The Threshold” is a thoughtful and effective show supported by quality and unobtrusive sound and lighting. It explores end of life, a much-neglected subject in our culture, with warmth, curiosity and compassion.

Compassion and community were central to this show. The older performers were supported by musicians and singers of all ages and genders. Occasional sounds from a baby in the audience only served to heighten the intergenerational experience.