A Welsh take on a classic
WILLY Russell’s famous downtrodden housewife Shirley Valentine lives again in a new Welsh-language production that is touring Wales now. Translated by actor, writer and presenter Manon Eames, pictured right, the one-woman show stars Shelley Rees as the middle-aged woman who finds more than just herself while holidaying in Greece.
Rees, a Bafta Cymru-nominated actress, has starred in Keeping Faith, Casualty, Gwaith Cartref and as Stacey Jones in Pobol Y Cwm. Other credits include Svengali, The Green Hollow and Hinterland for the BBC – and she co-hosts a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio Wales.
“I am delighted (and terrified) to be given the opportunity to play the iconic Shirley Valentine,” she says. “Shirley is a funny, brave, spirited character, yet she is unfulfilled and frustrated. She challenges herself to make big changes before her life completely passes her by. This great play is poignant, uplifting and is an empowering journey, and to be able to play Shirley through the medium of
Welsh, throughout Wales, is a fantastic challenge and a great honour.”
An uplifting story of self-discovery, Shirley Valentine was originally translated into Welsh in 1995, becoming a huge success for Theatre West Glamorgan. Its warm humour and frank discussion of female sexuality struck a chord with audiences across Wales and Eames is pleased to be bringing the magic back with her new translation.
“Revisiting Shirley Valentine to translate it in 2021 has been a complete joy,” she says. “The humanity, wit and pathos in the play are as relevant today as it was when Willy Russell first wrote it back in the Eighties, and Shirley’s character and story are still vibrant and resonant in whatever setting – the mark of a truly great piece of writing.”
She adds that it was relatively easy to reimagine Shirley as Welsh: “The script is so clever and Shirley as a character is so universal, there’s a sense that you could transplant her into a lot of different locations and she would still be relevant as a character,” she says.
“But obviously, as a translator, you want to reflect both the rhythms and idiom of the original in the target language, so you need to be familiar with the dialect of the area. It’s interesting because the film version makes Shirley more middle-class than the stage version – I even saw a production in French which made her much more
A new Welsh-language production of Willy Russell’s much-loved play Shirley Valentine is touring Wales now, writes Jenny White...
downtrodden, living in a high-rise flat in a poor area of Paris.”
Eames was well-qualified to translate the play. She has worked throughout Wales and beyond, initially specialising in theatre for young people and community audiences in both Welsh and English, but also appearing in, and scripting, many main stage productions as well as TV plays, series and several films, in both languages. She has written regularly for Pobol Y Cwm and 2017 saw the publication of her first novel, Porth Y Byddar.
The show has been produced by Y Consortiwm Cymraeg, a new collaboration set up by Theatr na nÓg and three venues – Theatr Soar in Merthyr Tydfil, the Welfare in Ystradgynlais and Awen Cultural Trust – to present high-quality accessible Welsh-language theatre and rekindle the vitality and value of their venues to their communities.
The Consortiwm’s wheels were already in motion before the Covid pandemic, but, as cultural centres locked down, it was felt that the need for these creative hubs was even greater – to help safeguard the future of Welsh language in the Valleys and to support a thriving Valleys community beyond the Covid pandemic.
This is the Consortiwm’s first production and Geinor Styles, the show’s director and the artistic director of Theatr na nÓg, says Shirley Valentine couldn’t be a better choice.
“One of my earliest jobs as a stage manager was touring Shirley Valentine in 1994 with Theatre West Glamorgan. The reaction from the audiences, Welsh-speakers and learners, was incredible and it is something that has stayed with me – that intention for audiences from all backgrounds to have a good night out at a venue on their doorstep in the Welsh language is a key aim for us at Theatr na nÓg.”
■ Shirley Valentine tours venues throughout Wales until April 1. Full tour dates and booking details can be found at www.theatr-nanog.co.uk