Hot flush or a hot topic?

Celebrated broadcaster and author Mariella Frostrup (pictured above) is set to bring her live show “Cracking the Menopause” to The Apex, in Bury St Edmunds, later this month.

Does HRT help brain fog? And why did the Victorians recommend leeching for menopausal women?

These questions – and many more – will be explored in an evening of laughter, revelation and radical honesty.

For generations, half the world has navigated this life transition quietly, often invisibly; this groundbreaking show tackles menopause head-on with the wit, wisdom and raw honesty it deserves.

The show is based on Mariella’s acclaimed book, “Cracking the Menopause”, co-written with journalist Alice Smellie.

Praise for the book has been widespread and Marian Keyes described it as “essential reading for everyone”, while Claudia Winkleman declared, “I inhaled this book, it’s fantastic. Women of all ages need to read it.”

Joining Frostrup on stage is acclaimed actress Gina Bellman, known for her roles in the award-winning BBC sitcom “Coupling” and the hit drama series “Leverage”, as well as its revival “Leverage: Redemption”.

Bellman brings breathtaking testimonies to life with a power that will leave audiences both speechless – and heard.

Through real words written by real women across the ages, audiences will journey from medieval “wandering wombs” to Victorian hysteria, from forced institutionalisation to modern-day gaslighting in the doctor’s surgery.

These are not just stories – they are battle cries, love letters and confessions that reveal the shocking truth about a universal experience too often erased and silenced.

“It’s high time we renovated and elevated this life change,” says Mariella.

“Despite the centuries of speculation and propaganda, we are not overheating or inherently cold, we are not hysterics or boiling vats of toxic poisons, we are not dried up or washed up, we are simply menopausal.”

From the sleepless nights that steal your sanity to the centuries of hysteria that stole women’s voices, through the horrible history of the menopause, nothing is off-limits.

Expect to laugh until you cry. Cry until you laugh. And feel the electric charge of recognition when someone finally speaks your truth out loud.

This is menopause reclaimed, served with huge heart and gloriously hopeful – perfect for anyone who’s been through it, is going through it, or loves someone who is.

Mariella Frostrupp brings “Cracking The Menopause” to The Apex on Monday, March 30, at 7.30pm.

See www.theapex.co.uk or ring 01284 758000 for more details and to book tickets.