The 1960s have been remembered for flower power, go-go boots, miniskirts and the amazing performers who got their big breaks, like Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin. While many of those stars have been immortalised, many of the women making a splash on our airwaves throughout that decade have been forgotten; I am Woman shines a light on these songstresses at The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre on 8 September.
“These are really lesser-known girls, who had the first number-one hits back in the ‘60s and quite remarkably, they were all 15 to 16 years old,” says writer and performer, Amelia Ryan. “Their names have been lost to the course of time because they might have had one or two hit songs but then got married or had children.”
The era wasn’t one that encouraged success for women in the entertainment industry, says Ms Ryan. She was inspired to write the show by her father’s partner who told her about the forgotten women. Researching the artists, Ms Ryan felt a sense of duty to honour the women who paved the way for performers like herself.
“The more I dug in, the more I thought ‘Why don’t we know these women?’ Sometimes I think we’ve been much more interested in overseas success stories like Dusty Springfield and all the girls from America, but we haven’t celebrated our own girls as much.”
Hitting the road in 2019, the pandemic put a halt on touring until 2021 when the show was picked up by an agent and the women have been travelling ever since, hitting the Canberra region for the first time next week.
Performing the hit songs of The Seekers, Noeleen Batley, Helen Reddy and other influential Aussie women, Ms Ryan also wanted to show what life was like for them. Helping her on this mission is Libby O’Donovan; the two women bring their own personalities to a bit of a history lesson, musical showcase and all-round good time.
“We very much acknowledge that the audience is there, and we have fun with them, we ask them questions. It’s sort of this hybrid of comedy, cabaret, storytelling and music … It’s incredibly nostalgic because they’re hearing songs that they haven’t heard possibly since the ‘60s,” Ms Ryan says.
In a time when everything was carefully controlled by men, Ms Ryan says women were told what to wear, and how to look, it is no surprise that advertising was also sold to women through a male lens. Throughout the show, they touch on advertisements that would be found in magazines like Women’s Weekly selling feminine hygiene products and weight loss aids.
“There were these pills and it says ’Have you looked at him lately, not as himself but as man? Have you looked at yourself lately, not as his wife but as his secretary? Don’t run away from what you see; start fighting. Get yourself a packet of Ford pills and you will look like the girls your husband stares at in the street’.”
Wanting audiences to leave feeling uplifted and inspired, Ms Ryan says that although Australian society has changed so much throughout the years, we need to continue on the path of equity.
“We’ve come so far, we’ve been able to stand on their shoulders, however, what are the girls going to be saying in 10, 20, 60 years about life in 2023? Maybe by then there will be equal pay,” she smiles.
I am Woman comes to The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre on Friday 8 September 11am and 8pm; theq.net.au
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