Alone in her kitchen, she talks to the wall, wondering what happened to her youthful dreams and how she got stuck in a marriage from which the initial fun and excitement has long since drained. When a former school friend gives her a ticket for a two-week holiday in Greece, she hesitates, fearful of the marital consequences.
But being on her own on a sun-kissed beach is so much better than being alone between the pastel-coloured walls of a suburban home.
As she relates the incremental moments that liberate Shirley Valentine from the confines of her “little life”, Smith blossoms before our eyes.
Her gift of instantaneous audience rapport combined with unimpeachable comic timing wrings every laugh from Russell’s script that spins marital cliches into verbal gold.
Her pronunciation of “taramasalata” is priceless. She hints at the character’s insecurity and can steer an audience from laughter to tears and back again with ease.
Resisting the impulse to update the play, director Matthew Dunster maintains the attitudes and idiom of the period that may seem outmoded to some.
But judging by the vociferous reaction to her observations, Shirley Valentine still lives in the hearts of many women.
- Shirley Valentine, Duke Of York’s Theatre, London, until June 3. Tickets: atgtickets.com
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