Music video and comedian Magda Szubanski are not usually two words you would put in the same sentence.
But the talented funny lady has shown off her acting chops and fierce prowess in a very moving music video from all-female Aussie band Seeker, Lover, Keeper – aka Sarah Blasko, Holly Throsby and Sally Seltmann.
The song, titled Let It Out, stars Magda as the protagonist – a powerful woman dressed in full robes, a headpiece and heavy make-up.
As she sings, she wipes away remnants of the cosmetics, essentially “letting it out”.
“Let it out (don’t be afraid) of who you are (what you were) or where you’ve been,” the song lyrics say. “You say honesty is hard that you won’t be safe or be okay.”
Written by Aussie singer Holly Throsby, Magda revealed that she felt the song on a personal level and believes it resonates with her own journey to self-empowerment.
“It was really interesting to me that when Holly wrote this song she actually meant it in a more personal way but to me it resonated in a universal sense,” she said in a statement released by record label Mushroom.
“Having gone through the whole journey of coming out – not just about sexuality but about who I really am in terms of revealing my beliefs, my morals, my intelligence, my real talents along with my flaws and weaknesses – I’ve felt like a butterfly shaking off a carapace.
“I cannot emphasise enough the sense of generous, openhearted empowerment that flows into you when you finally are standing on the solid ground of your authentic self.”
Magda’s powerful performance is awe-inspiring.
(Source: Liberation Records)Speaking of the character she portrayed, which is much like herself, she said: “The woman in this video is fierce and intense, warm and slightly whacky.”
“She is someone who is both a theatrical performance of self, bold and dramatic, but firmly rooted in a deep knowledge of who she really is.
Magda also revealed that director Natalie van den Dungen asked for some small dance moves.
“I hadn’t prepared anything at all but I just went with what felt right and what you see is the result of that and you can make of it whatever you want.”
Magda removes the makeup to be her authentic self.
(Source: Liberation Records)The incredible performance was a tribute to three of the most influential women in Magda’s life – her mother, her Scottish grandmother and her polish grandmother.
“My Polish grandmother was an extraordinarily brave and compassionate woman who risked torture and death to hide Jewish people all through the war in Nazi occupied Poland,” Magda said.
“My mother and her mother were both women who were gifted with the “healing hands” – and also hearts. Themselves damaged and broken in many ways, they still had the ferocious strength and loving kindness to be able to stand by men who had been shattered by war.”
While Magda dedicated her performance to these women, she also wanted to empower young people who “desperately need hope and strength given the challenges they face”.
“And there is a crucial role for older women to play. We can impart the lessons of courage, wisdom, compassion and strength that we have developed over decades of surviving and persisting in a world that wanted to keep us powerless and silent,” she said.
“In a world that was at best indifferent and at worst hostile to the authentic power that resides within women, a power that is both fierce and soft. And that is not conferred by the external world but that comes from deep wells of empathy within.
“And hopefully this will also free men to step out from behind the facade of false power and finally be their genuine, upright powerful selves.”
A powerful performance, by a powerful woman.
(Source: Liberation Records)Seeker Lover Keeper’s self-titled debut album was released in 2011 and hit #3 on the ARIA Album chart, selling over 35,000 copies and is certified Gold.
This is their 2nd highly anticipated record.
You can watch the full music video HERE.
WATCH NEXT: Magda Szubanksi stars in the very first same-sex wedding on a drama series in Australia
