Thirteen courageous women accepted Dove's invitation to bare their souls and take to the stage in the play Body & Soul. Under the direction of celebrated playwright Judith Thompson, these women told their own stories, sang their own songs and shared their own experiences with audience after audience. And what an effect they had. "It was eye-opening," says Gail Whitehouse, who attended the play in Toronto. "Although everybody;s so different, we're really basically the same – we all have a soul."
Dove commissioned Thompson to create Body & Soul to challenge the way society thinks about beauty and aging. Dove invited women from across the country to audition for the play by writing a letter to their bodies. Once the final cast was chosen – all of them over the age of 45 – Thompson crafted the script from the women’s own stories. At first glance, these are ordinary women – mothers and wives, teachers and facilitators, travellers and nurturers – but with extraordinary stories. They overcame stage fright, self-doubt and physical fatigue to each deliver a bold and honest performance. "I felt like a fish in water," says Jeannine Boucher, the cast's eldest member.
The days following the final curtain call for these accidental actors were filled with moments of reflection and, as Lois Fine says, post-dramatic stress. They had formed a genuine bond with one another. Here are their thoughts on the experience of participating in Body & Soul and their philosophies on aging beautifully.
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