The Canadian performer visited hospices, mystics and cemeteries to research Age Is a Feeling. The show, which has now been performed in 10 languages, has reduced men in their 70s to tears
I
t is the summer of 2024 and Haley McGee is performing Age Is a Feeling at a festival in Toronto. Her show is in good shape, having already raked in five-star reviews at the Edinburgh fringe. But this performance is different. As she launches into her poignant monologue about life, death and the business of getting old, she hears a baby cry.
The newborn sleeps through the rest of the show, but the performer, who is newly pregnant herself, feels as though she is speaking directly to this child and its young family. “It framed the whole show as a conversation with this baby,” McGee says: “This is my message for you about your adult life.”
Now preparing to revive the piece for a run in London, the Canadian-born playwright and actor has been imagining her one-year-old daughter as the target audience. Age Is a Feeling is written from the perspective of a 25-year-old speculating on her future, considering the choices, major and minor, that may or may not lead to a fulfilling life. Who can say how everything will play out: the feuds, affairs and health scares, the fragile friendships and creaking bones?
