ON STAGE
playSpringtime in
Autumn
Vienna’s English Theatre puts on a charming and
wistful comedy, Shirley Valentine
by Gerhard PoschThere must be something about actors
talking to inanimate objects that can
make an audience laugh (remember Clint
Eastwood berating an empty chair during
the 2012 Republican National Conven-
tion?). In British playwright Willy
Russell’s Shirley Valentine, the heroine
talks to a rock. Unfortunately, it’s a Greek
rock, so it can’t understand her.
To be clear, every bit of Shirley Valentine
is meant to entertain. Much like an East-
woodian maverick, Russell ventured into
the lawless terrain of the one-woman
show, a new genre in 1986, when he creat-
ed his two-hour monologue that has be-
come a staple of the West End and marked
Russell’s debut on Broadway.
It was easy to see why on the second
night of its current run at Vienna’s English
Theatre. The audience of native and
non-native speakers was in stitches, clear-
ly having a wonderful time.
SECOND LIFE
The comedy tells the story of Shirley
Bradshaw (formally Valentine), a
middle-aged Liverpudlian housewife,
who faces a midlife crisis when her best
friend invites her on a getaway to Greece.
Shirley (a formidable Cally Lawrence),
and her husband, Joe, are empty nesters,
her role of nurturing mother no longer
needed. Serving her family as a one-stop
shop for all things domestic, she can no
longer remember why she fell in love with
Joe in the first place. After 20 plus years of
marriage, Shirley begrudges the dreary
routines, drunken arguments and sexual
abstinence. Above all, Shirley regrets no
longer daring to dream.
Greece, the cradle of Western civiliza-
tion, looks like the perfect place to find a
new sense of purpose, even if it means a
country where they eat squid! Once at the
beach, it is not so much a Promethean zest
for knowledge that spurs Shirley on but a
raw desire to feel alive.
Like its working-class heroine, the plot
of Shirley Valentine may seem simple. But
Russell took a risk in writing this play. The
entire comedy hinges on the audience’s
capacity to relate to the feeling of squan-
dered opportunity. Of course, few people
can say they have always made the most of
every chance.
Lightening our remorse, Russell’s hu-
mor is primarily situational, and
Lawrence shines brightest during imper-
sonations of her friends and family. Direc-
tor Adrienne Ferguson decidedly kept this
play in the ‘80s: Shirley references the
Concorde, phone boxes and André Previn.
She even wears shoulder pads. But all of
these somewhat nostalgic details don’t re-
ally matter because in the end, Shirley’s
plight is as relevant today as it was in the
days of Margaret Thatcher.HOLIDAY IN THREE ACTS
Eventually, Shirley indulges in a fling with
the owner of a local tavern, and when Joe
pleads for her return to England, she re-
jects him. The play ends with Joe en route
to Greece, while Shirley promises the au-
dience she will never go back.
Thus, Russell’s comedy seems to sug-
gest that the next time we find ourselves
lonely, desperate or lost, we should try
talking to our lawnmower or washing ma-
chine. Or even a rock. We could get a good
laugh out of it.
At Vienna’s English Theatre, Ferguson
and Lawrence succeed in making a mono-
drama from the ‘80s a relevant, hip and
entertaining theater experience. It is
Russell’s wry humor that nudges us and
urges us to reevaluate our lives. It also
saves Shirley Valentine.Through Oct 21, 19:30, Vienna’s English Theatre, 8., Josefsgasse 12, englishtheatre.atPHOTOS FROM LEFT:VIENNA’S ENGLISH THEATRE, GAVIN EVANS