Shirley Valentine

Duke of York's Theatre

4.8/5 based on 13 reviews (read reviews)

Booking until: Saturday, 3 June 2023

This show is now closed

Couples (92%) Theatregoers (100%) i

Shirley Valentine description

Shirley Valentine - Willy Russell's beloved 1986 comedy

Want to buy cheap tickets for Shirley Valentine? Good idea! The brilliant Sheridan Smith returns to the West End stage for 2023 in the starring role of Willy Russell's gorgeous 1986 romantic comedy, playing a Scouse woman whose life has let her down, leaving her deeply unsatisfied and desperate for change.

The stage show is played in the form of a one-woman monologue, directed by Matthew Dunster whose West End productions include 2:22: A Ghost Story. The producer is David Pugh who actually saw the first ever production back in 1986, at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre. He has since begged the author for involvement in a revival, and his dreams have come true.

Sheridan Smith is best known for top musical roles including Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, and Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. Pauline Collins played Shirley in the West End and on Broadway, and also made the 1989 film version - also written by Russell, and directed by Lewis Gilbert - her own.

This brand new production opens at the Duke of York's Theatre on 17 February 2023.

What's the story behind Shirley Valentine?

Shirley is a housewife. Her kids have left home. She's so bored and frustrated she talks to the kitchen wall while cooking her husband's tea. Her dreams have been forgotten, she has almost no friends, and her husband treats her like a servant. So when Shirley's lively mate Jane wins a trip for two to Greece, Shirley agrees to go along. She stashes the ticket in her handbag and bides her time. Then she quietly packs her bags and she and Jane go to Greece.

When they get there, and Jane runs off with a fellow holidaymaker for an affair, Shirley is at a loose end. But she adores everything about Greece: the food, the vibe, the landscapes, the sea. When Shirley meets Costas Dimitriades, the owner of a nearby tavern, sparks fly. At first he's just a friend who helps her fulfil her dream of drinking wine by the sea in the same place the grapes were grown. But Shirley doesn't fall for Costas, but she does fall deeply in love with her life, deciding not to fly home.

Shirley's husband Joe is baffled and angry when she refuses to come back to England. But will she eventually return?

About Shirley Valentine

Shirley Valentine is a one-woman play by Willy Russell, which won him his third Olivier. Sheridan Smith, who stars as Shirley, has won many awards including two Oliviers and a BAFTA. The director Matthew Dunster has been Oscar nominated three times.

The show is designed by Paul Wills, with lighting design by Lucy Carter and sound design by Ian Dickinson for Autograph.

Buy tickets for Shirley Valentine

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