Last update on February 19, 2023
Shirley Valentín You probably don’t need introduction. He is 37 years in process, after having started his life as a play at the Event Theater in Liverpool in 1986. He has hit stardom in that film with the lovely Pauline Collins in 1989. Shirley Valentine The last incarnation, thought, is with Sheridan Smith, which is gloriously fun, charming and charming in this London production at the Teatro del Duke of York.
Shirley Valentín It is a single -woman work, written by Willy Russell (who also wrote the wonderful Educate Rita), And is directed by Matthew Dunster. Both are holders of three Olivier awards each.
Shirley Valentine lives a rumorous life. His children have left home. Her husband sounds bored and is desperate for romance and adventure. A glass of white wine is the highlight of its day that goes down while cooking the fries and the egg of her husband. The kitchen wall is its closest confidant, and shares intimate, fun and bittersweet anecdotes with us while splying your heart.
We learn that Shirley has a friend named Jane, who offered a ticket to Greece. And so, the escape inkins fantasy. Is courage started and exchanged a life of domestic routine for two weeks to the sun?
Cut to Greece, and Shirley is alone again and talking to his new best friend, a substantial rock on the beach. Jane has left her for a man, but she is “alone but not alone” and shining like a lobster. He has fallen in love with the idea of living again. A happy ending is on the way to Shirley, thank God.
Russell really has a way with words, pushing some hilarious lines such as “sex is like Sainsbury’s: a lot of thrust and thrust and nothing comes out at the end.” Or, “marriage is like the Middle East, there is no solution.” And he says it, the auditorium of the Duke of York has a laugh. I don’t remember the last time I heard a audience have fun.
Arriving at Sheridan Smith as Liverpudlian Shirley Valentine was a coup of genius. There is a true touch of tact in the representation of Smith. She provides a master class on how to pull the strings of a complete audience with a nuanced, colorful and ingenious performance. In a nutshell, she is totally adorable. And she gets Scouse’s accent to a Tee.
This is a Shirley who will wish how your Valentine’s Day while falling in love with her. You will leave the Duke of York all better to have her.
Shirley Valentín It is at the Teatro del Duke of York until June 3. Execution time: 2 hours, including the interval. Buy tickets.
