Shirley Valentine

By Willy Russell

Sally Reid reprises her award-winning ‘outstanding’ performance as Shirley Valentine in Willy Russell’s iconic play.   

Shirley Valentine is a celebration of women, freedom and what it means to find yourself again. We meet Shirley, a bored, middle-aged wife and mother as she contemplates what has happened to her youth. She feels lonely, disenchanted and in a rut. Her children are all grown up and she’s stuck at home with only the kitchen wall to talk to. Shirley dreams of a better life, free from the chains of her domestic boredom and an unappreciative husband.  

When her best friend suggests a trip to Greece, Shirley packs her bags, leaves a note on the cupboard door and heads off for a fortnight of rest and relaxation.  

In Greece, she meets Costas, rediscovers herself, finds happiness and everything she has been missing. She realises that there is more to life than the dull, mundane existence she leads back home. Now, Shirley has a big decision to make. 

Sally Reid received an Outstanding Performance award for her role in Shirley Valentine from the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland. 

Reviews

“Reid has the comic muscle to bring in the big laughs, but also the control to draw us in to Shirley’s most vulnerable secrets. Long before the play’s escapist release, she has turned us into intimates. Her insecurities, almost whispered, are ours. She is devastatingly good.” The Guardian

“At its heart, and quite beautifully captured by Sally Reid in an understated but glorious performance, is a timeless quest for the human right to be ourselves, rather than what society demands that we be. And in Shirley Valentine that story is told by a woman of such self-deprecating wit and charisma that no audience can resist her; particularly when she is played by an actress who also perfectly embodies those qualities, and who is rightly cheered to the echo, as Shirley’s story reaches its happy end, and perhaps a new beginning.”  The Scotsman

⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Scotsman

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐The Guardian

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Edinburgh Guide 

⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Scotsman

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Braw Theatre

⭐⭐⭐⭐Broadway World

⭐⭐⭐⭐Reviews Hub