Liverpool Everyman to stage new production of Shirley Valentine

In celebration of the Liverpool venue’s upcoming 60th anniversary, the Everyman will mount a new production of Willy Russell’s Shirley Valentine.

Originally commissioned and staged by the Everyman, the one-woman show (which was revived in the West End last year starring Sheridan Smith) will be led by liverpudlian actor Helen Carter (Boys from the Blackstuff) under the direction of Stephen Fletcher.

Playwright Russell commented: “I’m delighted to be back at the Everyman, a theatre that holds a special place in my heart. As it has done for so many writers, actors and directors in its 60-year history, the Everyman gave me my first opportunities as a writer. I can’t wait to work with Helen and Stephen on bringing the play back home and seeing Shirley strut her stuff across the boards on which she was born”.

Russell’s other notable works include the likes of Blood Brothers, Educating Rita, John Paul George Ringo… & Bert, Breezeblock Park, Our Day Out andStags and Hens.

Shirley Valentine originally opened in March 1986, starring Noreen Kershaw and helmed by then artistic director Glen Walford. It follows one woman’s journey of self-discovery and liberation from a housewife of an emotionally distant husband to a new life in Greece.

The venue’s CEO, Mark Da Vanzo, said: “Bringing Willy’s celebrated Shirley home is the perfect end to our 60th birthday year. It’s a huge honour for us all to be working again with Willy after our revival of Educating Rita in 2015, and a wonderful opportunity to celebrate not just the Everyman’s past but look confidently to its future as well”.

Shirley Valentine will run from 1 to 29 March 2025.

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