Shirley Valentine in Melbourne, 10th August 2017

The play is about escape and takes the form of a monologue by a 42-year-old Liverpool mother and housewife, Mrs Joe Bradshaw, before and after a transforming holiday to Greece.

Inside Mrs Joe Bradshaw is the former Shirley Valentine longing to emerge.

Her self-esteem battered by school, marriage and life in general, she finds herself talking to the wall while her husband is out working. She feels that her life is terribly mundane as she compares scenes in her current life with what she used to be like and feels she has stagnated.

When her best friend wins an all-expenses-paid vacation to Greece for two, Shirley grasps the opportunity to head for the sun and leave her current drudgery behind, to re-find herself, follow her dreams and to get a new lease on life. The note in the kitchen reads “Gone to Greece, back in two weeks”.

With much humour, warmth, sympathy, human insight and a great deal of empathy for his female protagonist, Willy Russell brilliantly shows Shirley breaking out of the mould in which she was cast by society.

“Hilarious, Uplifting and Perfectly Performed.”

“An evening spent with Shirley Valentine is like an evening spent with your best friend.”

“A good show starts with a good script, and Shirley Valentine is a masterpiece that will be as relevant in ten years as it is today.”

“Flowing at a steady pace throughout, the script is never boring even when it slows, becoming poignant and insightful. This show will ultimately lift you up with its overall message of hope.” – Deborah Jayne, WeekendNotes

Show Length: 130 minutes, with interval

Location: Drum Theatre, Cnr Lonsdale and Walker Street, Dandenong