CHRISTIANE RÖSINGER - The Joy of Ageing

Rabenhof Theater, Wien

Christiane Rösinger is a musician, Kreuzberg resident and grandmother.

From her point of view, it could go on like this forever, if it weren't for getting older and money worries. Ageing can't be stopped, but to earn a bit of money, Christiane decides to write a guide to old age.

Without illusions, but with power. An energetic call to stop putting up with the way society treats women who are no longer young. Yet it is not so easy to find a relaxed attitude to growing old yourself. The conversations with her friends, their different experiences and opinions, show this: There's the dog lady, the self-optimizer, the up-and-coming woman. Not a positive role model in sight. Where are the role models? And above all: what good is anything if you suddenly find yourself in the stroke unit in hospital?

"The Joy of Ageing" (Rowohlt) is not a guidebook, but a bitingly funny book full of memories, thoughts and stories that ends with some serious advice: complain less, live more.

Because being old means being free.