Less well known in schools maybe than Educating Rita which visits the same territory, Willy Russell’s immaculately, tenderly observed portrait of a frustrated (in every sense) 1970s Liverpool housewife is as moving as it is hilarious. And the observation of women’s experience is so acutely observed that it’s hard to believe that this is the work of a male playwright. Moreover, although the film with Pauline Collins broadened out the concept it’s a real joy to see a beautifully written one person show which takes an idea, runs with it and develops it for two full hours – plenty here for A-level Theatre Studies students to get their teeth into.
Jodie Prenger naturalistically creates a totally believable Shirley, making egg and chips for her husband’s tea, chatting hilariously to the audience and, literally, talking to the kitchen wall as she works. She’s good company. Her Scouse accent, so reminiscent of The Beatles and Cilla Black, somehow adds to the humour and contemporary ambience. Prenger is a gifted actor amusingly creating other characters with different accents as she goes. Director Glen Walford ensures imaginative use of the stage space especially in the second half when Shirley travels, against all the odds, to Greece and discovers things about herself she either never knew or had long since forgotten after years of tired marriage and patronising grown up children.
Best of all is talented Prenger making her homely, buxom character light up (a fling with a Greek waiter who knows more about female anatomy than her husband or Sigmund Freud helps) and blossom into a flushed, happy, relaxed, confident woman. I defy you not to come out smiling at the end.
Review by Susan Elkin