'Confessions of a Menopausal Femme Fatale' Review: Menopause, Music, and Unfiltered Truth
- Romey Norton
- 10 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Romey Norton - June 13, 2025
There’s nothing quiet about Confessions of a Menopausal Femme Fatale, and thank goodness for that. This bold, genre-defying stand-up storytelling concert is a whirlwind of humour, heartache, and hormonal heat. Clocking in at a tight 1 hour and 41 minutes, the feature is part comedy special, part soul-baring confessional, and 100% unforgettable. It's the kind of film/show that doesn’t just break taboos about menopause, it shatters them with a mic drop and a perfectly timed punchline.
What is 'Confessions of a Menopausal Femme Fatale' about?
Audiences get ready for Shakoor, a fearless, funny, and fierce human. Framed by a return to Hawaii nearly 40 years after once calling it home, Shakoor’s performance is triggered by a panic attack that spirals into something deeper: an emotional excavation of her past. She guides us through addiction, postpartum depression, grief, aging, identity, and radical reinvention, all while wielding humour and music like weapons of survival. She’s an unapologetic woman, doing what comedians do best, turning trauma into comedy.
I was giggling from the get-go with the set opening up with Shakoor fanning herself whilst crying. This performance is wonderful as it's a mix between stand-up and a one-woman monologue. There’s some singing, impressions, and even some awkward audience participation. Shakoor shines in a gorgeous, bright purple dress with gold accessories as she uses the space to tell her life story.
Visually, the set is simple with one chair and lamp on one side and two steel chairs on the other, against a giant curtain backdrop. The stand-up-style setting allows Shakoor’s storytelling to shine without distraction. The focus is on her and her words - as it should be. Shakoor is a great actress and knows how to tell a story that’s both compelling and entertaining for the audience.
I know some people might shudder at the idea of a one-woman show, but this one is emotionally rich but never self-pitying, confronting hard truths with levity and generosity. It dares audiences to listen, look, and think about their lives and futures. If anything, it’s a little long for audiences to sit through without an interval, and there could have been more props to help support certain stories by bringing them to life for the audience.
For anyone wondering, you don’t need to be menopausal, or even female, to connect with the rawness of this journey. Shakoor doesn’t just talk about menopause; she reframes it as a transformative rite of passage that deserves space, respect, and a little rock-and-roll.
Is 'Confessions of a Menopausal Femme Fatale' worth watching?
Yes — It’s vulnerable, self-aware, and often hilarious. It’s a piece of theatre I’d love to see live, and I’d be interested in how other actors could work with this script. Shakoor becomes a guide not just through hormonal chaos but through the broader complexities of womanhood in midlife. She’s made me think that getting older isn’t going to be that bad. And if it is, we can just laugh our way through it. Confessions of a Menopausal Femme Fatale is a breath of fresh, sweaty, unapologetic air. Fans of the show ‘Shirley Valentine’ will enjoy this one-woman show.
'Confessions of a Menopausal Femme Fatale' is available now on digital platforms
Searching for more bold voices in comedy and cinema that challenge the norm? Explore more independent film reviews and features at Film Focus Online, where we celebrate stories that break boundaries and rewrite the script.
