Monday, September 23, 2013

Shirley Valentine

I took my mother and her best friend to see Lisa Bobbert-McIlroy (Lisa) as Shirley Valentine at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre last Friday night.
We had all seen the movie years ago and it had touched us all in its way.
Well, we were not to be disappointed…the palpable involvement that live theatre offers, for both the actor and the audience, remains unmatched.

And then there is Lisa. She is “charming” incarnate. She achieves perfection not in flawlessness, per se, but in wholeness. One simply has to admire the fact that she remembers all those lines… and stoksiealleen. All eyes on her… no other characters to divert our attention whilst she catches her breath or flips through her memory banks… bearing in mind that she moves from one performance to the next in steady flow.

Lisa’s portrayal of Shirley Valentine was REAL. Natural. She was Shirley Valentine, no question about it. We were in that kitchen with her… and her wall… and in Greece… and we were all rendered good listeners. Never a dull moment, with constant eye contact, impeccable timing, facial expressions and accents… she made us laugh and made us cry… she made us think and made us want to try…
And, by the way Lisa, you have legs to die for, and you can whistle like a male hooligan soccer fan!

The set was grand, which is something I have come to expect from the King. Attention to the smallest detail, even the taps had water come from them! She really did cook chips and egg while we there… had we been closer, I am certain we would have smelt it.

I also noticed the lighting effects… subtle but effective… dimming as Shirley elegantly and humbly slipped into the depths of her own pathos, betwixt her upbeat musings.

The steadfast quality of Steven’s direction shone through as always. KickstArt Theatre Productions has become a force to be reckoned with, and I am a proud South African in the wake of it. We have world-class talent right here on our own doorstep.

The only criticism I can deliver, and not for wanting to, is that our hearing-impaired friend sometimes battled to hear Shirley in row J.

Other than that, what a poignant yet uplifting piece of theatre… just the right length. We left for home, emotionally and spiritually satiated… grateful and a-dreaming... knowing that we are not, as we may sometimes think, alone.

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