MENOPAUSE The Musical 2: Cruising Through The Menopause may be a barrel of laughs, but the “change of life” itself certainly is not funny.

Who says? X Factor singer Mary Byrne, who is now starring in the ultimate girls’ night out, which is coming to Woking on a UK tour.

The 63-year-old says one of the first things she noticed as she reached “a certain age” was changes in her skin, which had always been good.

“I noticed very, very dry skin,” she explains. “I’d never had dry skin before, and I didn’t put the two together until I was later on into the actual menopause. My whole body was changing.

“I found my skin changed terribly on my legs and on my back, they got very itchy. And I got it on my elbows. I tried every lotion under the sun. I tried body butters from one end of the world to the other.”

Remembering the first time she had a hot flush, she says: “I was in the doctor’s office for an appointment. I’m sitting in the waiting room and I thought someone had opened an oven door.

“My neck went red, my skin went a purple colour. It lasted for a couple of seconds but it was the most uncomfortable, frightening thing I’ve ever had in my life.

Menopause The Musical 2, which arrives at New Victoria Theatre next Saturday, 4 March, certainly sounds more fun than that.

The show arrives in Woking next week. (Picture supplied)

Menopause the Musical debuted in 2001 in Florida. It saw the cast of four women shopping for lingerie at a Bloomingdale’s sale and sing 25 songs about chocolate cravings, hot flushes, loss of memory, nocturnal sweats and sexual predicaments.

This sequel fast forwards five years to catch up with the same four characters for tales of their lives, loves and losses as they set sail on the high seas. The show is a funny, heartfelt, reassuring, and unflinching look at the joys of menopause and friendship.

Alongside Mary, the 2023 cast includes Jessica Martin (Copycats), Rebecca Wheatley (Casualty), and Susie Fenwick (West End star).

The original show appealed to menopausal women, who helped it blow the lid off the “silent passage” by flocking to see it in large numbers.

The musical has now been staged across the world, seen by more than 12 million people.