At katebilling.com, we believe in the power of storytelling to reflect, challenge, and inspire. That’s why we’re thrilled to support the return season of Nicola Cheeseman is Back, a play by award-winning New Zealand playwright Kathryn Burnett. More than just an evening at the theatre, this production is a powerful exploration of the midlife experience – one that deeply resonates with the women we support through our Turning Point Programme, Pathmaker Community and executive team development work.
Why This Play Matters
Midlife can be a tumultuous time, full of career shifts, family transitions, identity questions, and personal reinvention. Women often find themselves stretched thin caring for aging parents, supporting children as they step into adulthood, maintaining relationships, and trying to stay ambitious in their work, all while navigating the emotional and physical shifts of peri/menopause. Nicola Cheeseman is Back captures ALL of this beautifully.
Nicola (played by Jodie Rimmer) is a woman who has spent years doing everything for everyone else. Now, as she finds herself at the midlife turning point – husband moving out, aging father moving in – she’s forced to confront the dreams she shelved along the way. With humour, honesty, and raw emotion, Kathryn Burnett brings to life a character that will feel instantly familiar to so many midlife women.
Challenging Stereotypes, Reclaiming Stories
One of the reasons this play is so important is that it pushes back against the limited narratives available to midlife women. As Kathryn shared in our conversation the entertainment industry is riddled with tired stereotypes. Women over 40 are often cast as pearl-clutching conservatives, ‘past their prime,’ or simply invisible. Burnett is on a mission to change that, crafting rich, complex, and deeply human female leads who reflect the reality of midlife today.
This matters far beyond the stage. The way society sees midlife women – whether in media, workplaces, or leadership – is a direct reflection of the roles and opportunities available to them. Supporting this play means supporting a broader shift in how midlife women are represented and valued.
From ‘Map Follower’ to ‘Pathmaker’
The themes of Nicola Cheeseman is Back align powerfully with our work at katebilling.com. We help midlife women leaders move from being ‘map followers’ – living by inherited gendered expectations and societal norms – to becoming ‘pathmakers’ who actively design and create themselves and their futures.
Nicola’s journey – falling apart to put herself back together – is one we see reflected in so many of the women we work with. The questions she grapples with – Who am I now? Where did my ambition go? What do I want the rest of my life to look like? – are ones we all need space to explore. The play offers a humorous yet deeply meaningful lens on this very real process of self-reclamation.
An Invitation to Join Us
We’re proud to support the return of Nicola Cheeseman is Back because we believe in the power of art to create conversation, spark transformation, and build community. We invite you to experience this story for yourself – whether you’re navigating your own midlife turning point or simply want to see a brilliant, funny, and moving performance that challenges the way we see aging and ambition.
The special ONE WEEK limited return season runs at Q Theatre from March 11–16, 2025 – purchase your tickets HERE.
I hope you’ll join us – because midlife isn’t the end – it’s a new beginning.
