Shirley Valentine comes home to the Liverpool Everyman

Shirley Valentine, the 'desperate scousewife' who spoke to a generation of women, is heading home to the Liverpool Everyman.

The theatre is celebrating its 60th anniversary year with a revival of one of its best-loved plays. The one-woman show, written by legendary playwright Willy Russell, was originally commissioned for the Everyman for the theatre’s 21st birthday. It opened in March 1986, with Noreen Kershaw in the title role and Glen Walford directing.

Shirley Valentine is the tale of a woman's journey of self-discovery. At the age of 42, Shirley is left with an empty nest, an emotionally distant husband and only ‘the wall’ for company. When her best friend offers the trip of a lifetime to Greece, she seizes her chance and discovers both her sensual side and her sense of self-worth.

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The play will run from March 1 to March 29 2025, with the role of Shirley played by Liverpool actor Helen Carter, who recently appeared at Liverpool’s Royal Court in Boys from the Blackstuff. It will be directed by Stephen Fletcher, who previously performed in three Willy Russell plays: Breezeblock Park, Our Day Out and Stags and Hens.

During the original run of Shirley Valentine, Noreen Kershaw developed appendicitis. She didn't have an understudy, so Russell himself ended up playing the role of Shirley for three weeks. The play went on to have enormous global success. In 1988 it opened in the West End in London, with Pauline Collins playing Shirley. The following year, the play went to Broadway, with Ellen Burstyn eventually taking over from Collins in the title role. Collins would go on to