One word when it comes to Shirley Valentine: go!

BY WENDY ELLIOTT

The Advertiser

NovaNewsNow.com

I have one small word of advice about Shirley Valentine, which opened at the Atlantic Theatre Festival in Wolfville last night. Go. See Niki Lipman in the title role during the next month.

Two cellphones went off to distract this accomplished actress and she hadn’t quite gotten a handle on when the laughs would come, but I’ve never sat in a theatre and listened to five separate spontaneous bursts of applause. Lipman deserved every one in this superb one-woman show.

My favourite moment was when Shirley Valentine’s Greek lover “told me he loved my stretch marks.” A woman stage right involuntarily guffawed in disbelief. "No, really," Shirley responded without missing a beat. The man behind us with the braying laugh went into spasms.

As accomplished director Linda Moore pointed out, Willy Russell handed them a fabulous script, but excellence in performance and stagecraft builds additional layers of pleasure.

Stephen Osler’s set and costume design, for example, were perfect. Watching the set change from dreary Liverpool to a sunny beach at Corfu was worth witnessing. And Leigh Ann Vardy’s excellent lighting added to the illusion.

As artistic director Nigel Bennett says, all three shows in this year’s season are about change and transformation. There’s no better meaning than the one audiences will take home from Shirley Valentine. Each of us needs an occasional reminder to live life to the fullest.

Opening night last Thursday was an event the like of which ATF hasn’t enjoyed for some years. All the speeches, balloons and palaver aside, summer theatre in Wolfville is off to a rollicking, heartfelt start.

Shirley Valentine runs until Aug. 15.