Shirley Valentine
Shirley Valentine is a play by Willy Russell.
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Synopsis
Taking the form of a monologue by a middle-aged, working class Liverpool housewife, it focuses on her life before and after a transforming holiday abroad. Wondering what happened to herself, now feeling stagnant and in a rut, Shirley finds herself regularly talking to the wall while preparing her husband's chips 'n' egg, until her best friend wins a trip-for-two to Greece. Without a second thought, she packs her bags, leaves a note on the kitchen table, and heads for a fortnight of rest and relaxation. What she finds is romance and a new awareness of who she is and what her existence can be with just a little effort on her part.
Productions
Commissioned by the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, the play premiered in 1986, with Noreen Kershaw directed by Glen Walford. Two years later it opened in London's West End at the Vaudeville Theatre, with Pauline Collins directed by Simon Callow.
After eight previews, the Broadway production, with Collins again directed by Callow, opened on February 16, 1989 at the Booth Theatre, where it ran for 324 performances. Ellen Burstyn replaced Collins later in the run.
Loretta Swit starred in a US national tour in 1995.
Russell adapted his play for the 1989 film version directed by Lewis Gilbert. Collins reprised her stage role, and the characters to whom Shirley merely had referred on stage were portrayed by Tom Conti, Alison Steadman, Joanna Lumley, Bernard Hill, and Sylvia Sims. The film was partly shot on Mykonos, one of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea.
Awards and nominations
- Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy (winner)
- Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress (winner)
- Tony Award for Best Play (nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (winner)
- Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut (winner)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play (nominee)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play (winner)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play (nominee)
- Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actress (winner)
External links
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