shirley valentine

A detailed Summary of shirley valentine

The play Shirley Valentine is written by Willy Russell and her path to self-discovery. Shirley Bradshaw, who is previously known as Shirley Valentine, is a bored middle-aged housewife living in the suburbs of Liverpool in a small semi-detached house. Shirley who lives with her husband Joe is now in her early forties, with her children having left her, feels unhappy and unfulfilled. By the end of the play we see Shirley has changed, this essay shows how Shirley changes to become a confident woman and a woman in control.

At the beginning of the play we see in the opening credits how Shirley life is dominated by domestic chores. We see in a series of paintings, Shirley cooking, cleaning, ironing and shopping amongst other things. When Shirley first talks we see her talking to the wall, "Hello Wall." This shows us that she is so bored out of her mind that she resorts to talking to the wall.

All throughout the play we see Willy Russell use different dramatic techniques. At the start we see her talking to the camera, to us the audience. He does this to show us what Shirley is thinking and feeling; she speaks to the camera,

"I know I'm wicked aren't I? Drinkin."

"Oh my god it's! It's six o'clock and his tea isn't ready. Will the government collapse?"

"Greece! At your age! You an' that Jane! It's obscene."

Then when Shirley talks to herself, Willy Russell uses some stagecraft, the mirror because it helps portray reality when she looks at herself.

Showing us that Shirley was depressed and put herself down.

Shirley is unhappy with her life and her relationship with Joe since it isn't what it used to be. We see her unhappiness when Shirley says she would have left Joe ages ago.

Shirley needed this fling with Costas because it made her feel special and wanted again. Shirley tells Jane that she doesn't love Costas but she's "fallen in love with the idea of living." It helped boost her confidence and made her feel special. Again Russell uses the contrast between Liverpool and Greece, this time Joe is talking to the wall saying he loves Shirley, to emphasise Shirley Bradshaw (the bored housewife) doesn't exist now. But now we see in Greece, it's sunny, to show the changed Shirley who is more bright and chirpy.

At the end of the play Joe ends up coming to Greece to sort out his marriage after trying on the phone not working. We see that Shirley still cares for Joe, as she wants him to stay in Greece, "Oh, I hope he stays for a while. He needs a holiday." When Joe comes to meet Shirley he doesn't even recognise her at first but is attracted to her. The fact that Shirley can't be recognised by her own husband shows the effect the holiday in Greece had. As the sun sets, the play ends up with Shirley and Joe talking to each other, probably about what they are going to do with their marriage now. We see Shirley has changed her life now. Right from the beginning where she was frustrated, bored, unhappy and unfulfillied, to now where Shirley is happier with life, as she is more confident and in control. It can be summed up by the phrase, "It's a change of life."

But Marjorie's job involved prostitution, so Shirley's life is not the only one where things turned out which none of them would have expected. Her reunion with Marjorie has made her think how unhappy she is with her life and feeling that she wants more out of life.

At this time, Shirley is putting herself down, "you are one silly bitch." But then Gillian comes along with a newfound respect for her, "I wish I had your bravery." She thinks Shirley is so brave having an affair and when she gives Shirley a silk robe, it boost her confidence and this time to the mirror she says, "hey Shirley you're only forty two!"

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Approximate Word count = 2735
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English