Grandpa Sol and Grandma Rosie: Aging Gracefully

Victoria: There comes a point where most people start to dread their birthdays. For Jackie (Lana Schwarcz), it’s all downhill after 30, a slow downward decay into old age. She diagnoses herself as a “gerontophobic “—one with an intense fear of aging. So, she sets off to conquer this fear . . . by taking a job at a Jewish nursing home in Melbourne.

Starring and written by Australia’s talented Lana Schwarcz, Grandpa Sol and Grandma Rosie is a one-woman show like no other. Using life-sized puppets of elderly folk, a uniquely lit display of chit-chatting bingo-players and stunning shadow projections, Schwarcz manages to fill the stage with an ensemble cast you’re sure to grow attached to. While the setting is potentially gloomy, Jackie adds a comedic touch with some charming banter about wrinkle cream prices and hearing loss. Her comparison of the elderly to the (in her opinion) grotesque sultana raisin is hilarious and had the whole audience chuckling.

But the real highlights of the show are in Jackie’s interactions with the elderly, and the journey she takes from fearing them to loving them- from fearing her own aging, to embracing it.

Showtime information available here.