SHIRLEY VALENTINE BY WILLIE RUSSELL
Mourning the loss of her youth and in a rut, Shirley feels as if her family treats her like a servant and she finds herself regularly alone and talking to the wall. When her best friend wins a competition for two to Greece, she packs her bags, leaves a note on the cupboard door in the kitchen, and heads for a fortnight of rest and relaxation. Will Greece be all she hoped for? What will happen after her holiday when she has to return to her humdrum life? Winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy and the Tony Award for Best Play, Willy Russell’s ‘Shirley Valentine’ is a quirky, humorous and wise ‘everywoman’s’ story. This promises to be a memorable night at the theatre!
The good women
Friday 19th and Saturday 20th January 2024
It’s the 1960s, the world is changing. Protesters take the streets for equality, hippies celebrate free love and a young band called “The Beatles” is rising to fame. But not in conservative Switzerland, where women did not get the vote until the 1970s and were legally confined to kitchen and household. Bette, the star of a popular TV cooking show, and Trudy, a housewife, are about to change that.
“The Good Women” is a new, funny, bold and romantic piece of theatre inspired by a true story of two extraordinary women; their losses, battles with addiction and abuse, political repression – and their audacity to love and dream in spite of it all. It is a collaboration between Irish, Austrian and British actors Faith McCune, Lena Liedl and Sophie Marsden. After its opening at VAULT Festival London and subsequent transfer to Greenwich Theatre, it is coming to Belfast for the very first time. Age recommendation: 16+
"A tribute to Swiss women who fought for the right to vote in the 1960s, Good Women Arts' poignant two-hander depicts burgeoning love against a backdrop of political struggle. Simply staged, the romcom plot balances witty humour, social injustice & emancipation." - Fringe Biscuit