Shirley Valentine Archives - North West End UK

10Apr

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Shirley Valentine – Leeds Playhouse

If King Lear remains the biggest challenge for actors of a certain vintage, then the 15000 word solo monologue that is Shirley Valentine represents a similar mountain to climb for an actress. Unlike playing the mad king this is one woman setting off on a two hour monologue, whilst also being asked to cook eggs and chips from scratch in front of a live audience. Playing frustrated housewife Shirley who finally breaks free of her shackles requires strong technique and iron nerve as there is nobody to pull you out of the mire if it goes wrong, and thankfully Mina Anwar has both. Willy Russell’s greatest creation is a lonely eighties and frustrated Liverpool housewife who is reduced to having a running conversation with her kitchen wall before she bins her dim sexist husband. She heads o...

Shirley Valentine – Grand Theatre Blackpool

3Apr

By Rebecca CaseyNo Comments

North West

Shirley Valentine – Grand Theatre Blackpool

Octagon Theatre Bolton presents a one woman play in two halves, Directed by Lotte Wakeham. Willy Russell famous for creating Blood Brothers, Our day out and Educating Rita originally wrote Shirley Valentine in the mid-80s, it then became a film. The original version was set in Liverpool. For this touring production, the play has been reset and imagined using the actresses native accent. Having never seen the film I didn’t know what to expect and quite honestly the thought of watching one actress on stage for such a long time isn’t something I would be keen to watch, however I was pleasantly surprised. Mina Anwar returning to the role of Shirley Valentine is spectacular, with the very relatable script make her portrayal of the character likeable, she comes across as the salt of the...

7Mar

By Jan MellorNo Comments

North West

Shirley Valentine – Everyman Theatre

An absolute treasure of a play – a joy to behold!! I adore the Everyman theatre in Liverpool. Maybe because I was born and raised in Liverpool, or that the design of the theatre is so encompassing, almost like we the audience are part of the stage or because it’ a charitable theatre that always hosts astonishing shows. Added to that, the opportunity to watch a Willy Russell (Liverpudlian playwright also born and bred in the city) masterpiece, being performed back on the floorboards of this fabulous theatre, reviving the one-woman play to the stage where it premiered in 1986, a great homecoming as the final show in the theatre’s 60th year celebrations. This was not something me or my 92-year-old mother were going to miss! Willy Russell, who’s famous and fabulous shows includ...

14Feb

By Abigail PendleburyNo Comments

North West

Shirley Valentine – Octagon Theatre

Heartfelt, Humorous, Honest The Octagon Theatre Bolton's production of Shirley Valentine offers a refreshing and deeply relatable take on Willy Russell's classic one-woman play. The Lancashire setting offers a subtle but effective change that makes Shirley’s story feel even more personal and relevant, infusing the narrative with local charm. Directed by Lotte Wakeham with warmth and sensitivity, the play follows Shirley Bradshaw (née Valentine), a middle-aged housewife who finds herself stuck in a monotonous routine of cooking tea for her unappreciative husband. As she reminisces about her younger, more adventurous self, she receives an unexpected opportunity to escape to Greece, where a simple holiday becomes a journey of self-discovery. Mina Anwar, best known for her work on tel...

Shirley Valentine – Royal Lyceum Theatre

15Jun

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

Shirley Valentine – Royal Lyceum Theatre

It’s easy to get stuck in life's daily routine, to lose all excitement in life due to duty and obligation. Shirley is a mother whose kids have grown up and left home, a wife to a man who still requires babying and all in all a shell of her former lively self. For Shirely life's about making her husband’s dinner and talking to the kitchen wall, a life unsatisfied and without risk or excitement, that is until her friend hands her a ticket to Greece. 2 Weeks abroad without the husband or kids… or at least that was the plan, now she’s met a man and discovered the true Shirley Valentine once more. Shirley Valentine is a brilliantly written one woman play that really makes you think about life and how it shapes us. It makes you think about who you are, how you got to where you are and reminds...

Elizabeth Newman talks about Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s 2024 Summer season

28May

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

NEWS

Elizabeth Newman talks about Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s 2024 Summer season

Under Artistic Director Elizabeth Newman’s astute leadership Pitlochry Festival Theatre has not only undergone a massive refurbishment but delivered a range of challenging and popular pieces of work for their loyal Perthshire audience. This year’s summer season in their Main Auditorium includes a revival of the 80s classic Footloose, and their version of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. There’s also a world première of Frances Poet’s new stage adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, and the welcome return of the theatre’s award-winning production of Shirley Valentine that really pulled in the crowds last time they staged it. In The Studio space there are premières of Harry Mould’s new play The Brenda Line, and a production of Nan Shepherd: Naked and Unashamed. Outside i...