Shirley Valentine

Inside Mrs Joe Bradshaw, 42 year old mother of two grown children, is the former Shirley Valentine longing to get out. With her hope and self-confidence badly shattered by school, marriage and life, she is reduced to talking to the kitchen wall whilst preparing her husband’s evening meal, which has to be on the table as he opens the front door every night. As she sips a glass of wine, she dreams of drinking in a country where the grape is grown. Her feminist friend offers her a holiday in Greece and, with great trepidation and a lot of forward planning, Shirley seizes the opportunity and goes to encounter a totally different lifestyle. Shirley breaks out of the mould cast for her by society to take a trip of a lifetime. 

The titular character, Shirley Valentine was played by Leisa Keightley. Leisa has been a regular cast member with Bonkers Theatrical performing in over 20 of their shows. Leisa took on the challenge of a one woman play with confidence and played the character with authenticity. Shirley was portrayed as a lonely wife with big dreams yet little drive to fulfil those dreams. Leisa was able to keep the Liverpudlian accent throughout the performance, never breaking character. It was a mean feat to learn and perform this one woman, 2 act play. Considering the vast amount of lines Lesia had to memorise, it was understandable that she stumbled on her lines a couple of times, but this didn’t detract from the pace of the piece, and she easily recovered without hesitation. With the set and layout of the stage, Leisa really made you feel like she was talking to you and you were there in her kitchen, sat at her dining table, having a chat over a glass of wine. The play is written with nostalgic references to the 80s which had the audience laughing along, reminiscing about those times. 

Shirley Valentine was directed by Mark Walker. His vision of the piece, along with the smaller venue of Bonkers Playhouse, produced the intimacy of being seated in Shirley’s kitchen, having a catch up, like an old friend immersed in conversation. 

The props and scenery were in keeping with the 1980s. Mark paid close attention to detail with regard to the working clock on the kitchen wall which reflected the time correctly in each scene, Drachma in Shirley’s money wallet for her holiday and little added touches like Liverpool football tickets on the noticeboard in the kitchen. In act two, a beautiful beach background was displayed for when Shirley made it to Greece, along with the sound of the crashing waves in the distance. Mark also included the key characters “Wall” and “Rock” within the set. 

Leisa costumed the piece herself with 80s clothing, including a neon orange bikini top and jeans whilst in Greece which was a bold choice and showed Leisa's commitment to the character. 

Overall, it was a well rehearsed performance and enjoyed by all. Well done to Leisa and Mark for undertaking this mammoth piece and delivering it in a way that made the audience feel really included. 

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