Shirley Valentine

Peeling her potatoes for her husband to make him chips and eggs when he gets home from work, Shirley Valentine fantasizes about a holiday to Greece where she will enjoy sex for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The play, written in 1986, is about a middle-aged woman in the midst of suburban drudgery with a sullen bully husband. Some aspects feel like a period piece but many of the one-liners ring true.

Shirley notes wryly that at the age of 42 all the good things in her life are in the past, but she felt like that when she was in her twenties.

A gag comparing the Middle East conflict to marriage could have been written last week.  Both are about patching things up and hoping the ceasefire holds, Shirley quipped.

Now in its third city of a short national tour, Natalie Bassingthwaighte feels snug in this role, with a flawless Liverpool accent and pitch perfect comic timing.

The one woman play leaves no-where to hide.  So convincing was her performance that I had to ask myself if that really was the actress on stage?

Playwright Willy Russell excels in being able to write from a woman’s perspective – there is a reference on Wikipedia that in an early season of the work he filled in for three weeks when no understudy was available.

The production was tightly directed by Lee Lewis, now with a reputation for producing sharp feminist plays. It is a bit gentler than Prima Facie.

The first act, in the kitchen, is amplified with vivid sound effects of frying eggs and dollops of musical effects composed by Brady Watkins.

The second act had a Mamma Mia! look – with the Shirley on holiday in Greece in a lounge chair, bright blue sea and ancient broken columns.

Shirley Valentine is an endearing character who is charming to share a cup of tea with.

David Spicer

Photographer: Brett Boardman