Shirley is very unhappy with her life as she says many times that she is fed up and tired of living her life, “I hate the life of talkin’ to the wall.” which shows her state of mind as being bored and displeased. With the kids having left home, Shirley feels even more lonely and she hasn’t got anyone to talk to or look after anymore, she also says that she misses them and how they have gone their own ways “Mind you I do miss them, the kids. Our MiIlandra shares a flat with Sharon-Louise now. An’ our Brian’s livin’ in a squat.” She basically lives on her own and for herself as she doesn’t share a relationship with Joe anymore as they don’t communicate with each other. She expresses the way they have drifted apart “They got married, they made a home, they had kids and brought them up. And somewhere along the way the boy called Joe turned into ’him’ and Shirley Valentine turned into this and what I can’t remember is the day or the week or the month or the …when it happened. When it stopped bein’ good. When Shirley Valentine disappeared, became just another name on the missin’ persons list.” which strikes sympathy for Shirley as we can tell by reading that passage that she didn’t want it to happen and is hurt by it, and now that it has happened she feels helpless and useless, as she is of no use anymore.
The setting of ‘Shirley Valentine’ in act 1 scene 1 should have a very grey dull look emphasising the typical British weather, also it adds to a boring feel showing how Shirley is bored and how she is thinking about everything as being lifeless and dim. Shirley would be facing the audience as it will engage the audience rather than if she was facing away from them, also the wall that she is talking to should stand out as it plays an essential part in Shirley’s life at that time, so it should also be facing the audience placed at the back of the set. I don’t think there should be any background music in Act 1 Scene 1 because there is no real adventure, excitement etc., although I think that there should be light sound affects of rain smashing on the window as it creates a washed down and tired feeling. The actor playing Shirley Valentine should be middle-aged and have a liverpudlian accent so it relates to the speech and context of ‘Shirley Valentine’.
I have considered three important symbols from Act 1 Scene 1 which are the wall, bottle of wine and glass and the cooker cooking the egg and chips. I have chosen these three items because I feel they play an essential part in Shirley’s life. The wall is most important as she shares a communicating relationship with it, “what’s he like wall?” Asking the ’wall’ questions shows that she has got no-one else to talk to and no-one will listen to her therefore the ’wall’ is her only true friend. Also she looks at the wall as if it is a real person who understands her sorrows and feelings and although the wall doesn’t understand what she is saying she feels protected by it from the outside world like it is a barrier from her dreams, and feels comfortable with it.
The glass of wine can represent as a medicine for Shirley because she drinks it to calm herself down or drift herself away from the miserable life she is living to her dream world in Greece, “its nice. Wine. It’s like its been kissed by the sun.”, which relates to the luxurious life she is waiting for filled with love and passion like wine. I would place it on the table next to the bottle of wine, so she can fill it up when it finishes and so it is visible to the audience.
The egg and chips is also important as I feel it is the root cause of her going to Greece, because during the course of making egg and chips “when I’m preparing the evening’ meal” which sounds boring and like an everyday activity compared to the satisfying life in Greece, it motivates her in going to Greece. The comparison of cooking ’egg and chips’ in Liverpool and ‘sun bathing’ in Greece can show how hard it is for Shirley to decide whether to go to Greece and then actually being at Greece.
As Act 1 Scene 2 opens, Shirley is dressed in a very elegant and sophisticated way, “Shirley is dressed in a fairly formal and attractive two-piece suit, wears high heels and carries a hat which she places on the top of her suitcase…” this shows that there is going to be a turning point in the play as she is dressed in the opposite way to the way she was dressed in scene 1. Taking her image as being totally different and changed I am going to change the way she is positioned and she is now going to be facing the window which will be on the right hand side of the set. This can show that she is ’looking out of the box’ but at times I might want Shirley to face the audience for engaging purposes.
When she gets to Greece I would face her in a diagonal direction towards the audience so the audience can see how she has changed with a tan and slightly revealing clothes. With everything changing positively, I would want my set to also change positively to show Shirley’s true feelings of excitement and adventure. The lighting will be bright and mostly orange representing the sun compared to the dull rain in England. Also it will reveal the golden sand and glistening sea, and I would also want palm trees and other props on the set to make it clear that she is in Greece.
Her facial expressions should now show as being happy and a feeling of being young and exciting although she is in her forties, “I’ll bet y’ didn’t recognise me did y’? I hardly recognise meself these days. D’ y’ like me tan?” which shows she has completely changed and admires the way she is unlike Scene 1. Also Shirley should be seen in fashionable and appealing clothes showing that she is comfortable in them and that she has started a new and different life that she always wanted.
For Act 2 Scene 1 I have also considered three symbols which are important to Shirley’s changing life in Greece, the first most important symbol is the rock as it is very similar to the wall. She talks to it as if it is alive and it’s her friend who she has known for years. While talking to the rock she uses humour to show that still knows how to ’crack’ jokes “Cause, I talk to the rock - but he doesn’t talk back to me. Well he can’t can he? it’s a Greek rock. It doesn’t understand a bleedin’ word I’m sayin’” showing that she has a explanation to why the rock doesn’t talk back unlike the ‘wall‘. The rock is also like an outlet for Shirley, and something to support Shirley when she feels lonely similar to the relationship she shared with the wall.
Costas and the boat is also an important symbol for Shirley in the play as she discovers she can live life the way she wants to and that no-one can stop her. Also Costas makes her feel young and free spirited again “An’ your not eighteen or forty-two or sixty-four. Your just alive…”, showing her state of mind now as being more open and clear about who she is.
The last symbol I think is still essential is the wine, but this time it can represent the luxurious and precious life that she has been longing to step into, “sittin’ here, drinkin’ wine by the sea;” showing that the wine has changed from a symbol of despair to an ore of fun and freedom. Everything is the way she wanted it to be and she has fulfilled her dream of being free and herself.
At the end of the play Shirley rediscovers herself and has found the lost soul within her “Hello. I used to be a mother. I used to be your wife. But now, I’m Shirley Valentine again. Would you like to join me for a drink?” meaning that she has returned to original self and knows she has.
After watching the play ‘Shirley Valentine’ the effect on the audience would be to show that if a person wants to fulfill a dream they can do it if they try and put themselves first. It also shows that there is so much in life to discover other than just sitting at home being bored.
I think my production of ‘Shirley Valentine’ will be successful as I feel that I have portrayed the character and circumstances of Shirley in a way which an audience could relate to. However, my play would have been more successful in the 1980s than the twenty-first century because I think the audience would relate more closely to the themes of the play, since may of them will have lived a similar life to Shirley Valentine, whereas most women of the twenty-first century have a career and life of their own. On the other hand, many women can still relate to Shirley’s predicament so my production of ‘Shirley Valentine’ will still be successful and relevent.
