shirley valentine play review

Her rescuer is serial wooer of middle-aged tourists, Costas, nicknamed Christopher Columbus as he's ably discovered her or uncovered her pleasure territory. The rebel, the fun girl, the girl who would do it all. This is a sad acknowledgement. At the end, there was a well deserved standing ovation and we remembered the deputy director, Julie Maxwell, who died recently and far too young. Subscribe to our newsletter. Like the other play in this season – 'Educating Rita' – 'Shirley Valentine' is largely about a character who lacks self-worth, is bored with the life she's compelled to live, and wants to reconnect with her former incarnation, ie the person she was – or thought she was - prior to getting married and becoming a housewife. Yet, Sweeney made it look easy. Clever lighting signposts our reactions throughout.

Shirley Valentine was played by Clare Sweeney who effortlessly captivated the audience. Not that any blame is required here, because Meera Syal's performance is totally absorbing and she kept the entire audience pretty-well riveted throughout.

Theatre Fan? So, when a friend offers to take Shirley off to Greece for a two week holiday, she leaps at the chance even though she knows Joe will be furious.

It has become a classic feminist monologue on the joys, tribulations and poignancy of a woman’s journey of self-re-discovery and stands as a powerful testament to the quality and empathy of Russell’s writing. That leaves Shirley in a humdrum existence cooking and cleaning for her husband, Joe, who can only relate to a life of regimented predictability. She portrays a woman, past her best and where the marriage has lost its spark. I have heard a great deal about how fine, how fetching and captivating Pauline Collins is in the one-woman stage version of "Shirley Valentine." We learn that she has lost sight of the girl she once was. The sound effects are fantastic.

Established on her Greek island, Shirley looks quite different in a sexy swimming costume and sun hat and is finding her true self. As a writer, I know only too well that large passages of dialogue can become stale quite quickly. Shirley is a 42 year-old Liverpudlian woman who has raised two children who have now flown the nest.

This, the Lancashire-born actress told the audience after the performance, makes the play “ours” – and it works.

I was surprised that it was so gripping and with emotional highs and lows. This is a play that would appeal to all. Sweeney made the character 3-dimensional.

This theatre review is about the play Shirley Valentine currently at the Salisbury Playhouse.. 25th February – 7th March 2020. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. - Writing and Publishing Made Easy, Freelance Writing Gigs – Expand Your Horizons, People and Nature – Opening Our Eyes to The Possibilities.

It’s a dream, yet, the audience can see that the ticket represents freedom. You believed in this portrayal and she revealed the various aspects of the character layer by layer.

Sweeney owned the stage.

I haven't seen the play, but I have a feeling the reports may be right; this is the kind of story that might work as a tour-de-force, with one actor populating the stage with her imagination, as Collins is said to do. Will she go or won’t she? This theatre review is about the play Shirley Valentine currently at the Salisbury Playhouse. The ticket is looked at longingly and often. Now more than 20 years old, 'Shirley Valentine' doesn't show much sign of ageing thanks to the fact that many women are still locked into situations where their obligations to families and husbands stifle individuality and where routine overwhelms one's sense of identity. As she lays her towel on a large rock, she starts to talk to it. We laughed at the great comic lines, the bathos about husband Joe ("Marriage is like the Middle East, isn't it? Find out more about me, and my writing HERE. The white-washed walls of the Taverna with its glorious powder blue shutters and a table and parasol where Shirley has her drinks alone. Although the narration is upbeat, there are glimmers of sadness. There were elements that you instantly recognised in yourself. She delivers the lines to Wall and Fridge, bemoans the emptiness of her life as a kind of domestic slave, always dishing out mince on Thursday and, of course, tackles the famous clitoris riff with aplomb.

In the film version of the play, Pauline Collins as Shirley also came across as capable and very funny, but at the same time she was also rather jaded as though ground down by her life. You won’t be disappointed. Having seen the film years ago, I was looking for some light entertainment, something uplifting and an easy watch. The theatre was full for the matinee performance and, there appeared to be a mixture of ages. It may be only a job in the taverna, watching Costas woo the next frustrated British tourist, but she can't return to her former self. And when Shirley says 'Who turned me into this? It is on at the Salisbury Playhouse until the 7th March.

She brought her to life. It reveals a slice of life and a glimpse as to what can happen if you do not hold on to your true self. It's totally Laurentian and this is not just about sex but about female identity and self-worth.

Sweeney dips in and out of nostalgia, her mood is up and down. The great new production which premiered at the Lyric Theatre this week tells us everything we need to know about the ghastliness of the female human condition. SHIRLEY VALENTINE - Pauline Collins (FULL) (English) - YouTube The narration continued in the same seamless way in the second act where a new set was revealed. Develop Sensory Awareness of the Natural World, Why Write Theatre Reviews? It is beautifully written and produced. However, there's a whiff of a 'happy ever after' ending which I think introduces an element of sentimentality into a piece which manages, for the rest of the show, to avoid it - a minor quibble in what is still an entertaining and enjoyable play. Of all the varying formats in the theatre, the one-actor show has to be the scariest for the performer and the toughest to bring off. If you want a story about life, love and one that doesn’t take itself too seriously, go and see it. What you get from the start is humour, originally Scouse and now Belfast. The second half contains some genuinely great passages. I have seen some complicated sets but this was neat and fairly basic revealing a cross section of the kitchen.

Instantly, we were transported to a beautiful Greek setting. You understand that she cannot talk to her husband in the same way anymore. As she says: "I've allowed myself to lead this little life but inside me there is so much more." She dangles her fake tanned legs over the edge of the sea and ponders her transformed future. I wasn’t aware that the whole play is centred around the main character because a solo performance is never easy and yet, this is one performance that just flowed almost effortlessly. Review: Shirley Valentine By Belfast Times 11 months ago . The play was cleverly written.

Now, Shirley is a shadow of her former self. Taking the form of a monologue by a middle-aged, working class Liverpool housewife, it focuses on her …

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