| shirley_valentine_2020.docx |
Programme Notes for Audio Description of Shirley Valentine
Lyric Theatre Belfast
Thursday 12th March 2020
PLEASE NOTE :THIS SHOW STARTS AT THE LYRIC THEATRE AT 7.30 PM.
This audio description is brought to you by Sightlines and the Lyric Theatre. The audio describers for this show are Cara Smith and Susie Kelly.
These Programme notes will be read out ten minutes before the start of the show, so if you would like to hear them, please collect your headsets and take your seats in the auditorium ten minutes before the show commences.
Shirley Valentine was written by Willy Russell . With the agreement of Willy Russell, this version has has been updated by a young Irish writer, Oisin Kearney. The play has been updated and relocated from its original setting in Liverpool to 1980’s Belfast. Shirley Valentine is a one-woman show, and Shirley tells us something of her life story and takes us on a journey from kitchen sink isolation to sun-drenched Greece. The themes of loneliness and marital stagnation after the children have left home are revealed, but shared with a sharp wit and much humour. An invitation from a female friend to go on a two week holiday to Greece proves irresistible. The music in this play reflects various popular hit records from the 1980’s. There are also some sound effects, like water and sea sounds as appropriate to the story. When the play first appeared in 1986 it was very successful, and received several awards and was adapted by Willy Russell for a film of the same name.
The Set
The opening set for the first Act of Shirley Valentine is the kitchen of her house. A round table sits in the centre of the room, covered in a red gingham checked tablecloth. Four white wooden chairs are placed around the table. A white handbag hangs over the back of one chair. Three walls of the room are visible. The centre panel back wall features a window above a long sink unit, with the two side walls angled sharply downwards towards this central wall, creating an optical illusion of a small receding kitchen. The kitchen floor is covered with tiles.The wall panels are a pale shade of blue. Checked fabric curtains are held neatly back in place at either side of the window. Beyond the window is darkness. On the wall to the left side of the room sits a waist-high kitchen cupboard unit, with three doors. Next to the unit is a large black electric cooker. A soft mop rests against the cooker. On the wall above the cooker and kitchen unit three flying ducks are hung. A small radio sits on the sink unit below the window, a large chip pan is on the cooker, and there is a white plate, a small saucepan and tea towel on the table. On the right hand side of the kitchen is a tall narrow white door and next to this there is a tall cabinet fridge, with small magnetic ornaments on the fridge door. Two small plastic bins, one with a black bin liner, sit next to the fridge.
In the second half the walls of the kitchen set lie around the edge of the
stage. The fridge lies on its side to the right, the sink at the back and the
cupboards to the left. The cooker is downstage left facing backwards. The
mop and bucket are stIll on stage middle right. The table and chairs are still in
the middle . The back wall is a radiant azure blue, and just below the front of
the stage is a thin blue strip representing the sea.
Characters
The role of Shirley Valentine is played by local actress Tara Lynne O’Neill. She is petite with shoulder length brown curly hair worn with a centre parting. In the first Act Shirley appears wearing a pale pink skirt, a pale blue blouse and gold-coloured wedge-heel shoes. A large plastic apron protects her clothes.
In the second Act Shirley appears in a pink patterned swimsuit, with a money pouch round her waist. She walks barefoot. A gauzy flower patterned kimono and a wide-brimmed straw hat completes her outfit.
Creative and Production Team
Writer Willy Russell
Director Patrick J O’Reilly
Executive Producer Jimmy Fay
Producer Bronagh Mc Feely
Script relocation Oisin Kearney
Set and Lighting Designer Paul Keogan
Assistant Director Julie Maxwell
Sound Designer Isaac Gibson
Costume Designer Gillian Lennox
Lyric Theatre Belfast
Thursday 12th March 2020
PLEASE NOTE :THIS SHOW STARTS AT THE LYRIC THEATRE AT 7.30 PM.
This audio description is brought to you by Sightlines and the Lyric Theatre. The audio describers for this show are Cara Smith and Susie Kelly.
These Programme notes will be read out ten minutes before the start of the show, so if you would like to hear them, please collect your headsets and take your seats in the auditorium ten minutes before the show commences.
Shirley Valentine was written by Willy Russell . With the agreement of Willy Russell, this version has has been updated by a young Irish writer, Oisin Kearney. The play has been updated and relocated from its original setting in Liverpool to 1980’s Belfast. Shirley Valentine is a one-woman show, and Shirley tells us something of her life story and takes us on a journey from kitchen sink isolation to sun-drenched Greece. The themes of loneliness and marital stagnation after the children have left home are revealed, but shared with a sharp wit and much humour. An invitation from a female friend to go on a two week holiday to Greece proves irresistible. The music in this play reflects various popular hit records from the 1980’s. There are also some sound effects, like water and sea sounds as appropriate to the story. When the play first appeared in 1986 it was very successful, and received several awards and was adapted by Willy Russell for a film of the same name.
The Set
The opening set for the first Act of Shirley Valentine is the kitchen of her house. A round table sits in the centre of the room, covered in a red gingham checked tablecloth. Four white wooden chairs are placed around the table. A white handbag hangs over the back of one chair. Three walls of the room are visible. The centre panel back wall features a window above a long sink unit, with the two side walls angled sharply downwards towards this central wall, creating an optical illusion of a small receding kitchen. The kitchen floor is covered with tiles.The wall panels are a pale shade of blue. Checked fabric curtains are held neatly back in place at either side of the window. Beyond the window is darkness. On the wall to the left side of the room sits a waist-high kitchen cupboard unit, with three doors. Next to the unit is a large black electric cooker. A soft mop rests against the cooker. On the wall above the cooker and kitchen unit three flying ducks are hung. A small radio sits on the sink unit below the window, a large chip pan is on the cooker, and there is a white plate, a small saucepan and tea towel on the table. On the right hand side of the kitchen is a tall narrow white door and next to this there is a tall cabinet fridge, with small magnetic ornaments on the fridge door. Two small plastic bins, one with a black bin liner, sit next to the fridge.
In the second half the walls of the kitchen set lie around the edge of the
stage. The fridge lies on its side to the right, the sink at the back and the
cupboards to the left. The cooker is downstage left facing backwards. The
mop and bucket are stIll on stage middle right. The table and chairs are still in
the middle . The back wall is a radiant azure blue, and just below the front of
the stage is a thin blue strip representing the sea.
Characters
The role of Shirley Valentine is played by local actress Tara Lynne O’Neill. She is petite with shoulder length brown curly hair worn with a centre parting. In the first Act Shirley appears wearing a pale pink skirt, a pale blue blouse and gold-coloured wedge-heel shoes. A large plastic apron protects her clothes.
In the second Act Shirley appears in a pink patterned swimsuit, with a money pouch round her waist. She walks barefoot. A gauzy flower patterned kimono and a wide-brimmed straw hat completes her outfit.
Creative and Production Team
Writer Willy Russell
Director Patrick J O’Reilly
Executive Producer Jimmy Fay
Producer Bronagh Mc Feely
Script relocation Oisin Kearney
Set and Lighting Designer Paul Keogan
Assistant Director Julie Maxwell
Sound Designer Isaac Gibson
Costume Designer Gillian Lennox
