Review: Shirley Valentine at The Octagon Theatre is ‘funny, beautiful and exquisite’

Willy Russell’s classic one woman show has endured the passage of time, as it still resonates with audiences and takes them through a gamut of emotions from the perspective of the female protagonist, who is attempting to make sense of how she got to be a woman who exists purely for others.

Mina Anwar has reset the play and this production is set in Lancashire, with the permission and blessings of the writer. And when I read this originally, I was slightly trepidatious. I think this is because I have seen countless stage versions set in Liverpool and it was all I knew, so it always felt linked to this place as Willy Russell intended.

Shirley Valentine at The Octagon Theatre

Director Lotte Wakeham and Mina Anwar respect the material as much audiences, and therefore there are no drastic changes here. So nothing jars and let’s face it – we all know or knew a Shirley Valentine. And the Lancashire settings works well because as a Northern character, she has an outspoken awakening, once she steps out of the kitchen and there’s something she has got to say to you, via the wall.

Shirley is looking back in order to try and look forward. When you first meet her, she is so chatty and interesting that you cannot believe she is ‘stuck’ in the same spot. But her confidence is a smokescreen, as she is standing still. To her husband Joe, she exists to prepare and cook his tea and he expects the same thing on certain days of the week.

And today he is expecting mince but Shirley has given this to a vegetarian bloodhound, as veggies were not cutting it.

So now he is going to get egg and chips, but this is usually his Tuesday meal. This is not the only surprise for Joe, Shirley has planned and booked a holiday with a friend to a Greek island.

Mina Anwar’s Take on Shirley Valentine

Shirley’s wisecracks rise to the surface like ash in a volcano which has been bubbling for years. And the reason for this is nervous energy. She is excited, yet petrified. How will her husband react? What will the neighbours say, and what about her daughter Malandra who has left home? Will she be shocked by mum’s decision?

Shirley Valentine is set in the late 1980s and as Mina Anwar says: “Women like Shirley are everywhere within the world. Although this is a woman who experiences life in her house without any internet or access to many influences we have now, these women still exist.” And she is right, they do and likewise men like Joe exist too.

Willy Russell’s writing is filled with a love of language

Willy Russell’s writing is filled with a love of language and celebrates how words can bounce out of an actor’s mouth and land at your feet. When you hear Shirley repeat the items she needs to leave the house with for this dream holiday, you realise that the prize at the end is worth it, as she is fretting but has hours before she leaves. This is more than a holiday, it’s as if this lost soul is escaping from prison with nothing but Tim Robbins’ Shawshank spoon and a poster of Rita Hayworth.

Mina Anwar never misses a beat as this complex and beautifully drawn character. She locks eyes with members of the audience and she knows how to deliver these killer lines and make them land. But she also gets right underneath the many layers of Shirley Valentine, and the effect is poignant and heartbreakingly familiar.

James Blakeman’s impressive lighting design

James Blakeman’s lighting almost acts like another character, from the supposed safety of the kitchen which is essentially a prison, to the sun soaked Greek island which brings out Shirley’s smile and a butterfly emerges.

Su Newell’s set and costumes highlight the contrast of the frustrated and under appreciated Shirley of the first half with the blossoming new woman of the second act. She begins the play in the jumper and feels boxed in and watching her glide across the stage in sunnies and floppy sun hat is empowering.

The Lancashire setting does not dilute the meaning of the play in any way, and Mina Anwar has reset this play with love and admiration for Willy Russell’s text. Lotte Wakeham’s production of Shirley Valentine is funny, beautiful, and exquisite. And it still packs a punch but leaves you feeling optimistic and we need that right now.

Shirley Valentine at The Octagon Theatre Tickets

Shirley Valentine is at the Octagon Theatre until 8^th March. It tours to The Dukes Lancaster from 12^th – 22^nd March and the Blackpool Grand Theatre from 1^st – 5^th April.

You can get tickets here