Shirley Valentine

Mansfield Performing Arts Centre
​Show dates 2023:
Sat 13 May – 7.30pm - Opening Night
Sun 14 May – 2.00pm - Matinee (Mothers Day)
Tues 16 May - 7.30pm - Show
Thurs 18 May - 7.30pm - Show
Sat 20 May – 7.30pm - Show
Wed 24 May – 7.30pm -Show
Saturday 27 May – 7.30pm - Final show

Tickets on sale 13 April 2023

Shirley Valentine - Meredith Newman 
Karen Pirie - Director

Synopsis:
In this stage play, the heroine in this actor's tour-de-force is an ordinary middle class English housewife. As she prepares chips and egg for dinner, she ruminates on her life and tells the wall about her husband, her children, her past, and an invitation from a girlfriend to join her on holiday in Greece to search for romance and adventure.
Ultimately, Shirley does escape to Greece, has an "adventure" with a local fisherman and decides to stay.
Shirley Valentine was written in the Eighties, but the fundamental questions remain; “Am I getting enough out of life. What else is there?” You can ask these questions in any period so the play remains current for todays audiences.
Shirley Valentine, which became a film in 1989 starring Pauline Collins, is a married woman whose life’s purpose is to make sure her husband is fed and contented. Her dreams are locked away and she is judged not by her intellect or the depth of her imagination, but how well she manages to fry an egg - or remember that husband has steak on a Tuesday.
Shirley is a philosopher. She has some beautiful ideas about life. She’s a great observer of people and humanity. Talking to the wall is her therapy.
Shirley Valentine is about connection. It’s not about drinking wine on a beach. It’s about being listened to. It’s about being in the moment. It’s about not allowing the flame to go out.”