Shirley Valentine

After a long wet drive I was given my customary and very warm welcome by the front of house and took my seat and looked forward to a good evenings entertainment.

The current Chesil site is a just about to start some new and exciting upgrades to the building. This performance of Shirley Valentine "bare" will go towards the new build. Bare is a new initiative. There is no staging/set (of note) and it relies on the skills of the cast to provide the production.

Shirley Valentine, written by Willy Russell, is the stage play that created the film with the late Pauline Collins and Tom Conti, and tells the story of Shirley a middle aged fortysomething that is under the constant shadow of her husband Joe and her want to change her life and her paid for holiday to Greece where she meets Costas (or Christopher Columbus as she calls him) and the life changing moment that this has. It is full of Liverpudlian humour and pathos along with sadness and emotion.

This is a one woman play. Shirley was played by Eleanor Marsden. Her performance was so strong and completely believable. With a scouse accent that she held throughout we were captivated. Her timing in the conversations she was having with us or with the Wall, or with the Rock, when she got to Greece was so brilliantly done you would be forgiven that we were not at the National Theatre. Facial expressions, gaps in speech, body language, Eleanor's ability to turn from humour to sadness and from downbeat housewife to a rejuvenated, confident and assured woman was extraordinarily good. I cannot really do justice in words as to just how strong this performance was. We went through the whole emotional gamut and we were with her all the way. My goodness how did she remember all those lines, each delivered with near perfect diction, that Liverpool drawl constant, never dropped!

You very quickly forgot that the staging was just a table and an old fashioned oven in act one, and a beach towel and gingham covered table in act two. The lighting was perfectly positioned and any changes, were slick and in keeping with the starkness of home (act 1) and the warmth of Greece (act two). Very well directed by Tom Humphries, he seemed to extract all he could from Shirley's character, and had the brilliance to work with. There is very little else to add. It was as perfect as you can get. There is nothing I can suggest to them that would improve it in any way. I have been coming to Chesil for nearly ten years, and in that time I have never heard the audience cheer so much or, to a man (and woman), stand. I have now and how truly deserved (rather than the now annoying ones given when not deserved). This was earned, truly earned.

This really worked, and it's the sheer strength of performance from Eleanor that made it so. I am very privileged to work with NODA, it has allowed me to see and report on many different styes of shows, Musicals, Farce, G&S, Comedy and Straight plays. Some stay with you for a bit and some you still remember with pleasure and respect. This will still be spoken about for many years.  Yet another triumph for Chesil Theatre, you have every right to be proud of what you have achieved with this.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.