Shirley Valentine by Willy
Russell
Directed by Lee lewis. Performed by
Natalie Bassingthwaighte. Simone Romaniuk – Costume and Set Design. Paul
Jackson – Lighting Designer. Marcello Lo Ricco – Sound Designer. Brady Watkins
– Composer. Jennifer White – Dialect Coach. Neil Gooding & Alex Woodward –
Producers. Canberra Theatre. Canberra Theatre Centre. March 19-21 2025.
Bookings canberratheatre.com.au or 72752700
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
The rapturous standing ovation at
the end of Shirley Valentine at the
Canberra Theatre on opening night was not only to applaud Natalie Bassingthwaighte triumphant solo performance in the eponymous
role, It also acknowledged Lee Lewis’s astute and beautifully orchestrated
direction. And it identified wholeheartedly with playwright Willy Russell’s
award winning play about an English housewife who seizes the opportunity to
escape her little life and discover herself on a Greek Island.
It is almost thirty years since I
saw Pauline Collins premiere the role of Shirley Bradshaw nee Valentine in the
West End. What struck me as I watched Bassingthwaighte bring the character so
vividly and realistically to life that Russell’s portrait of a woman wishing to
break free from a life unused and to discover her true identity and spirit is
as relevant today as it was thirty years ago. The play is rich with references that strike a familiar chord with anyone who
has found themselves defined by other people’s view of them and judgemental expectations . As the curtain
rises we discover 42 year old Shirley Valentine in her modest kitchen preparing
a meal of egg and chips for her husband Joe. She is talking to the wall while
sipping on a glass of wine that she continues to top up. Russell’s insight into
the life and character of the working class north country women is acute. Like
Rita in Educating Rita Russell
creates women constricted by circumstance who know that they can strive for a
more meaningful and fulfilling life. For Rita it is academic pursuit to improve
her lot. For Shirley it is the chance gift of an air ticket to Greece from her
friend Jane that symbolizes her ticket to freedom and escape fro m a husband
incapable of change and adult children living their own lives. It is a struggle
that Shirley eventually overcomes at the end of the first act.
In the second act we find her on
the Greek Island, dressed in the red silk dress that her neighbour Jillian gave
her in envious admiration of Shirley’s bravery. Her feminist friend Jane has
left her to hook up with a man she met on the plane and Shirley finds herself
with the kind of tourists who seem to take delight in complaining and
criticizing. At a tavern she meets the smooth talking Costas and with him
discovers her dream and the courage to live her life on her terms. Her
passionate affair with Costas on his boat is an act of empowerment and self
discovery. Russell creates characters who escape a sense of low self esteem
imposed in Shirley’s case by her unappreciative husband or an intimidating
school headmistress or demanding kids. At the end of the play, the audience
learns that Joe is coming to take Shirley back to their house in Manchester. It
will be a different Shirley he finds, living her new life on the Greek Island.
Bassingthwaighte’s performance is
a tour de force. Alone on stage for the entire evening, she captivates the
audience with her portrayal of Russell’s ordinary Lancashire lass. Director Lewis guides Bassingthwaighte through the
changing moments and rhythms of the monologue. At times Bassingthwaighte is the
skilled stand-up comedian relating the discovery of the clitoris or describing
her son Brian’s childhood role of Joseph in the nativity play. The audience can
be heard laughing uproariously one moment and falling completely silent in the
moments of pathos as Shirley pauses to reflect on her life experiences. Bassingthwaighte’s
timing is superb, her storytelling engrossing and her charm charismatic. She
holds the audience entranced by Shirley’s story and inspired by her resolve to
live the life she wants and not the life she has to. Under Lewis’s sensitive
and perceptive direction, Bassingthwaighte gives a performance in Willy Russell’s witty and insightful play that is not to be
missed.
