A witty yet heartfelt account of a woman burdened by routine, Shirley Valentine at the Trafalgar Studios is a masterpiece.

An intimate, one-woman show, Shirley Valentine is the story of a bored housewife looking for more out of life than serving her ungrateful husband and is engaging, comic and highly entertaining.

Meera Syal, starring as Shirley Valentine owned the stage and commanded the audience at every turn. A great talent, Syal was able to maintain the momentum of the show for two hours — a tough challenge which she accomplished with ease. She even managed to pull off an authentic Liverpudlian accent.

The cosy Trafalgar Studios 1 auditorium was ideal for a play which often relied on subtle yet significant emotion. Meera embraced the complexities of the character and expressed each subtle nuance wonderfully, with her comic timing perfectly on point — it takes an experienced actress to pull off a discussion about the clitoris while cooking egg and chips live on stage.

Blood Brothers writer Russell, uses humour in his work to reflect and highlight real-life issues and this distinguished style was prolific throughout the show. Valentine, ignored by her husband and with no sense of the woman she used to be, regularly talked to the kitchen wall. A clever theatrical technique, audiences were able to see just how isolated and desolate she had become, however, the comedy was there to remedy the feelings of distress.

The funniest part of the play was when Valentine finally decided to go pack up her life in Liverpool for two weeks and jet off to Greece with her friend. After meeting a Greek waiter and enjoying a night of debauchery she excitedly announces that she had finally discovered the “Isle of Clitoris” (yes, there is a theme emerging here). Humour again worked incredibly well in communicating how unhappy (and unfulfilled) she had previously been and how she had grown in confidence and, well, experience. With a new lease of life it is no wonder she decided to stay in Greece and not go back home.

The set was simple but effective, with the first half of the play taking place in Shirley’s kitchen, complete with working chip pan and hob. There were no curtains and the show started very abruptly which immediately made the production feel more personal — almost as if you had walked into Valentine’s home by mistake. At times the setting was claustrophobic. A change of scene would have been nice, however, that would have diluted the point. Instead, the audience experienced the monotony of Valentine’s life and could empathise with her boredom and drudgery.

For the scenes in Greece, the set changed to a beach scene and immediately the stage felt fresh and alive once again. There was something new to look at, reflecting how Shirley felt, breaking away from her old life. She even managed to make a new friend in the form of a rock — ok so Rome wasn’t built in a day, but still the setting enforced a new burst of life.

The costumes were simple, yet symbolic, and the smooth changes between dowdy housewife and ambitious traveller gave the show an extra sparkle.

Although the ending was left slightly ambiguous as to what Shirley’s future will be, there was a real sense that Valentine is back in control of her life and is on a continued mission to change it.

Shirley Valentine is a great production and Meera Syal is perfect in the lead role. Book tickets for Shirley Valentine at the Trafalgar Studios and see this brilliant comic play for yourself.

As part of their Willy Russell season, the Trafalgar Studios are also showing the brilliant Educating Rita. Read our Educating Rita review here.

Tagged as: blood brothers, educating rita, meera syal, shirley valentine, trafalgar studios, willy russell

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