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Shirley Valentine UK Tour

Published on

February 7, 2017

By

douglasmayo

Everyone's favourite Liverpudlian housewife is back! Shirley Valentine will tour venues across the UK bringing her heart-warming tale to audiences.

Willy Russell's heart-warming comedy premiered in 1986 and took the world by storm. It was adapted into an oscar nominated film starring Pauline Collins, and now as the play celebrates its 30th anniversary, Jodie Prenger stars in the first major revival of this treasured play.

Shirley's kids have left home and she makes chips and egg for her husband while talking to the wall. Where has her life disappeared to? Out of the blue, her best friend offers her a trip to Greece for 2 weeks and she secretly packs her bags. She heads for the sun and starts to see the world and herself very differently.

Of the revival Willy Russell says; “It’s now thirty years since Shirley Valentine first walked onto the page, into my life and the lives of so many others. Shirley cooked her first meal of egg and chips on the stage of the Everyman Theatre Liverpool before then hoofing it down to London where along with the cooking and talking to the wall she started picking up the string of awards she’d win in the West End, on Broadway and in the film that earned both BAFTAs and Academy Award Nominations. Since those early days Shirley has had an incredibly rich and varied life, appearing in many tongues across the globe in countless productions and being performed by many great actresses. The one thing Shirley Valentine has not done of late is extensively tour the UK. There have been approaches and plans mooted but, somehow, it’s just never quite felt right and so I’ve resisted such efforts – until now! And what has made the difference? When producer Adam Spiegel introduced me to Jodie Prenger I knew in an instant that here was a formidable actress, one who possessed the grit and the warmth, the drive and the vulnerability, the energy and the heart to make Shirley Valentine really live again. How could any playwright resist that or deny the whole of the UK the chance to see Jodie bring Shirley to life?

This new production of Shirley Valentine is directed by Glen Walford, set and costume design by Amy Yardley, lighting design by Glen Whiteside, and is produced by Adam Spiegel.

For more information about other great touring productions JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

SHIRLEY VALENTINE UK TOUR

Thursday 2 - Saturday 4 March 2017

Churchill Theatre, Bromley

Monday 6 - Saturday 11 March 2017

New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham

Monday 13 - Saturday 18 March 2017

New Victoria Theatre Woking

Monday 20 - Saturday 25 March 2017

Richmond Theatre

Monday 27 March - Saturday 1 April 2017

Milton Keynes Theatre

Monday 3 - Saturday 8 April 2017

Grand Theatre Leeds

Monday 10 - Saturday 15 April 2017

Theatre Royal Bath

Tuesday 18 - Saturday 22 April 2017

Wycombe Swan

Monday 24 - Saturday 29 April 2017

Sheffield Lyceum

Tuesday 2 - Saturday 6 May 2017

King's Theatre Glasgow

Tuesday 16 - Saturday 20 May 2017

Marlowe Theatre Canterbury

Monday 22 - Saturday 27 May 2017

Theatre Royal Nottingham

Tuesday 30 May - Saturday 3 June 2017

Festival Theatre Edinburgh

Tuesday 6 - Saturday 10 June 2017

Belgrade Theatre Coventry

Monday 12 - Saturday 17 June 2017

Wyvern Theatre Swindon

Monday 19 - Saturday 24 June 2017

The Lowry Salford

Tuesday 27 June - Saturday 1 July 2017

New Theatre Cardiff

Monday 3 - Saturday 8 July 2017

Assembly Hall Theatre Tunbridge Wells

Monday 10 - Saturday 15 July 2017

Theatre Severn Shrewsbury

Monday 17 - Saturday 22 July 2017

Theatre Royal Brighton

Monday 24 - Saturday 29 July 2017

Festival Theatre Malvern

Monday 11 - Saturday 16 September 2017

Grand Theatre Blackpool

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