Shirley Valentine

Book excerpt: I'd fallen in love with the idea of living... because we don't do what we want to do, do we? We do what we have to do and pretend that it's what we want to do. Shirley Valentine is the joyous, life-affirming story of the woman who got lost in marriage and motherhood, the woman who wound up talking to the kitchen wall whilst cooking her husband's chips and egg. But Shirley still has a secret dream. And in her bag, an airline ticket... One day she may just leave a note, saying: 'Gone! Gone to Greece.' Willy Russell's celebrated one-woman play originally premiered in 1986 and became an instant classic, winning the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy and later being adapted into a successful film. This revised edition was published to coincide with the 2023 revival starring double Olivier Award and BAFTA winner Sheridan Smith.