Showy Ovaries with Penny Ashton.

Penny Ashton

Comedian Penny Ashton is on a voyage of discovery into the hormonal hocus pocus of menopause. So what better way to learn about her moisture moving from inside her body to perspiring out her face, than by talking to a series of wondrous women and owners of ovaries about their own lives and their menopause journeys. A series of frank and funny interviews all about what to expect, when expecting the change. Warning: salty language, and not just from the night sweats. Season Three and beyond is opening up wider to include women and trans individuals of all ages and bodily functionings. 

  1. Felicitous Susannah Fullerton - For the Love of Jane Austen

    DEC 15

    Felicitous Susannah Fullerton - For the Love of Jane Austen

    Send us a text Hoorah! Showy Ovarians, grab your bonnets and pop the kettle on because today, December 16th 2025, we’re throwing a literary birthday bash! Jane Austen turns a whopping 250 and what better excuse for a Showy Bonnets Special?  And who better to to spill the tea on all things Austen than NZ's other Janeite of notoriety, the head of the Jane Austen Society of Australia for 30 years; Kiwi Susannah Fullerton.  Susannah is a global Jane Austen powerhouse. A writer, academic, tour guide, speaker and all round literary super fan from the moment she could pick up a book. She has led JASA to being the largest literary association in Australia and is also variously patron, founder and member of numerous other societies from Dickens to Georgette Heyer.  Penny beamed into her Paddington pad to chat about Susannah's body's favoured position, her skill at hitting a ball, the alarming notion of giving birth 18 times and Great Writers and the Cats Who Owned Them.   But mostly she and Penny both wax lyrical on the proto-feminist, supremely witty, joyous literary superstar that has changed both of their lives, our dear lady Jane Austen. If only Jane could see how her star shows no sign of dimming, even if her life was tragically cut short.  Apologies for some of the high feedback along this podcast.  CONTENT WARNING: A touch more swearing than in Pride and Prejudice....  ALSO sending love to Sydney and all it endured in its horrific attack at Bondi Beach only 2 days ago.  Support the show

    55 min
  2. Award Winning Bronwyn Turei

    MAR 18

    Award Winning Bronwyn Turei

    Send us a text Wellington Theatre's 2024 Co-Actor of the year Bronwyn Turei (Ngāti Porou) drops into Penny's house to discuss all things fleshy. From being head girl at Gisborne Girls, to dealing with a lot of intense trauma as a teenager, to heading to London's Globe theatre to becoming a constantly jobbing professional actress, she and Penny covered how her body rode this rollercoaster. She talked of hitting the giddy heights of fame aged 24 when cast in the TV show Go Girls, of leaning into her "curvy" characters storylines despite how some of them felt, of how totally adorable her child is, (despite how traumatic her birth was) and how she once went on a blind date to Shanghai.  Penny also thanked her being being a superstar in Penny's directorial debut with Sense & Sensibility where she was part of a stellar cast, and they laughed about how Bronwyn's toddler wormed her way into Penny's cold dead non maternal heart.  CONTENT WARNING: Sexual assault, suicide ideation, Mental Illness.  Photo Credit: Roc Torio  Book for Give Way here: https://nz.patronbase.com/_Circa/Productions/2509/Performances Penny's Shows  Book for Austen Found here: https://www.qtheatre.co.nz/shows/austen-found  Book for The Tempestuous in New Plymouth here: https://www.iticket.co.nz/events/2025/may/the-tempestuous Book for Stratford here: https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/olive-copperbottom-a-dickensian-tale-of-love-gin-and-the-pox-tickets-1243841095199 Book for Tasmania here: https://events.humanitix.com/promise-and-promiscuity-a-new-musical-by-jane-austen-and-penny-ashton Book for Melbourne here: https://chapeloffchapel.com.au/show/promise-promiscuity/ Book for Newcastle here: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1342004 Book for Sydney here: https://events.humanitix.com/promise-and-promiscuity-a-new-musical-by-jane-austen-and-penny-ashton-qvacnk7s Book for Canberra here: https://www.thestreet.org.au/shows/promise-and-promiscuity Support the show

    1h 6m
  3. Jodie Rimmer is Back

    FEB 27

    Jodie Rimmer is Back

    Send us a text National Treasure Jodie Rimmer invited Penny to her whare to chat all things actorly. From her launching straight from school onto the screen via a saddle, to fun with Ryan Gosling, to chronic pain, HRT and mental health crises, they covered it all. Born in the same year she and Penny mused how long ago the millennium was, Jodie discussed her past as a cross country athlete in Florida, the wonders of Dr Theatre, how she could have been Rachel McKenna and how much she is loving playing the eponymous character in Nicola Cheeseman is Back, by Kathryn Burnett. Especially now she can remember her lines.  Grab your tickets here: https://www.qtheatre.co.nz/shows/plumb-theatre-presents-nicola-cheeseman-back-katebilling-encore-season  Reviews for the previous season: "Nicola Cheeseman is Back is a triumph of theatrical storytelling, delivering a heartfelt exploration of life's complexities through the lens of a remarkable character, played by a remarkable actress and served on a smorgasbord of laugh after laugh." Broadway World "The show has many important things to say about the way women are seen in society as they age, and there are many more things that could be said. By presenting these ideas through a warm, funny and straight-talking character, we are able to receive them clearly and entertainingly. This is a show that connects with its audience in the relatability of its situations and characters, and which has much to offer all ages and genders." Theatreview  "Nicola Cheeseman is Back is a f*****g funny and wondrously observant play about not letting age get you down. Jodie Rimmer is such a star who’s exquisite portrayal of this fiery, courageous women makes me regret she’s fictional coz I’d love to meet her in real life. But then again, when I think about her courage, her introspection, her wit, her creativity, and the type of woman she represents, I realise, I have already met her." Andrew Whiteside   Support the show

    1h 2m

Ratings & Reviews

About

Comedian Penny Ashton is on a voyage of discovery into the hormonal hocus pocus of menopause. So what better way to learn about her moisture moving from inside her body to perspiring out her face, than by talking to a series of wondrous women and owners of ovaries about their own lives and their menopause journeys. A series of frank and funny interviews all about what to expect, when expecting the change. Warning: salty language, and not just from the night sweats. Season Three and beyond is opening up wider to include women and trans individuals of all ages and bodily functionings. 

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