Shirley Valentine

Wondering what has happened to her youth and feeling stagnant and in a rut, Shirley feels as though her family treats her more like a servant. She finds herself regularly alone, talking to the wall while preparing an evening meal of “chips and egg” for her emotionally distant husband. When her best friend wins a competition for two to Greece, Shirley packs her bags, leaves a note on the cupboard door in the kitchen, and heads off for a fortnight of rest and relaxation.

In Greece, with just a little effort on her part, Shirley rediscovers everything she had been missing from her life in England. She finds so much happiness that, when the holiday is over, she decides not to return. Instead, she leaves her friend at the airport and goes back to the hotel where she has been staying, asks for a job and begins a newly confident life in which she is finally true to herself.

Shirley Valentine was excellently played by Sarah Waters. As the only character on stage, Sarah had the very difficult job of carrying the whole performance, but she kept the audience completely engaged throughout. She shared so many emotions with us, from laughter and sarcasm to plenty of tears.

I have seen Sarah in a few plays now, but this was by far the best performance I have seen from her. She absolutely blew me and the audience away with a brilliant performance. To hold an audience’s attention while performing alone on stage is no easy task, and Sarah did it exceptionally well.

The play was directed by Carole Ferguson, and you could see just how much work she had put into the production. The stage direction was excellent, and this felt like a partnership made in heaven. Watching a full audience laugh and cry throughout the play was a real indication of how well it had been put together. The final bow was particularly special. I thought the audience were never going to stop clapping!

A big shout-out to Stage Managers Kathryn Brown and Ryan Bailey-Jaynes. You both helped to make this play something very special, and the set design was also very good.

Sound and lighting were once again at the highest level, so well done to everyone involved.

I must also mention the cooking of the chips and egg on stage, as this absolutely blew my mind! The timing within the dialogue was perfect. A lot of practice and hard work must have gone into getting this so right, and it was a brilliant touch that added even more to the performance.

I can only say, well done, Sarah. You were excellent, and you thoroughly deserved the applause at the end.

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