A production by Christine Harris & HIT Productions Australia’s Premier Theatre Touring Company By Willy Russell Shirley Valentine is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria PLAYWRIGHT - Willy Russell Willy Russell’s career spans more than four decades; born in Liverpool in 1947, he left school at 15, became a women’s hairdresser, part-time singer/songwriter before returning to education and becoming a teacher. Russell’s breakthrough work, commissioned by Liverpool Everyman, John Paul George Ringo...and Bert transferred to the West End winning Best Musical - Evening Standard and London Theatre Critics Awards. Two of Willy’s best-known plays have female protagonists, Educating Rita (Olivier Award for Best Comedy and Shirley Valentine (Olivier Award - Best New Comedy & Best New Actress, Tony Awards, Broadway – Best Actress). Both became successful films - Julie Walters and Pauline Collins who played the roles on stage received Oscar nominations as did Willy Russell for the screenplay of Educating Rita. Blood Brothers, (Laurence Olivier Award, Best New Musical, 1983), played for 24 years becoming the 3rd longest running West End musical. Major foreign productions include a 2 year run on Broadway, with recent productions in South Africa and Korea and current productions in Australia and Japan. The UK tour is still playing to packed houses. Our Day Out, originally written for TV, about a school outing, has been adapted for the stage as Our Day Out - The Musical. Premiered at Liverpool’s Royal Court in 2010 to rave reviews it was revived a year later for another sell out season. The critically acclaimed novel, The Wrong Boy was published in 2000 and translated worldwide. For further information please visit willyrussell.com. SHIRLEY VALENTINE - Mandi Lodge Mandi Lodge is a highly acclaimed, British born, singer/actress who is currently touring with the HIT Productions theatre show Always...Patsy Cline as Louise Seger, a wonderful comedic role. She recently performed the role of Susan in the one woman play Just the Ticket written by Peter Quilter. Mandi is known for performing Busting Out at the Hayworth Theater in Los Angeles, preceded by the UK and National tour. She starred as Sharon in the Melbourne and Adelaide seasons of Dumped! The Musical we’ve all been through. Mandi’s career has seen her play a variety of roles, Earth Mother in HIT Productions’ Menopause the Musical in Concert, Rita in Educating Rita, Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker and Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd opposite the late Rob Guest. Mandi is very excited to be performing as Shirley Valentine in HIT Productions theatre piece,Shirley Valentine. PRODUCER – Christine Harris Christine Harris who in 2016 celebrated her 23rd anniversary as a significant Australian producer, is the Managing Director of Melbourne based company HIT Productions. Since her first tour of Hotel Sorrento in 1999, she has delivered some of the most extensive tours ever staged in Australia including David Williamson’s The Club, Let The Sunshine and Managing Carmen, Louis Nowra’s Cosi, Joanna Murray-Smith’s Love Child, Alan Seymour’s The One Day of the Year, Jonathan Biggins’ Australia Day and most recently Willy Russell’s Educating Rita and Ted Swindley’s Always...Patsy Cline. Recognised as Australia’s Premier Theatre Touring Company, HIT has completed 85 tours and is committed to touring outstanding mainstream productions to metropolitan, regional and remote venues Australia wide. DIRECTOR – Denny Lawrence Denny Lawrence has worked in Australia, Canada, NZ, UK and USA as an actor, writer, producer and director in film, theatre and TV including four feature films, numerous telemovies and miniseries and hundreds of hours of series TV. Many have won nominations/awards, including AFI and BAFTA Awards. He was producer and director on MDA (ABC), which gained an International Emmy Award nomination, winning three AFI Awards. Theatre directorial credits include the award-winning Sky and The Old Boy (Ensemble), A Woman Knows (Tisch New Theatre, NY), A Soldier Dreams (Theatre East, NY), Loyal Women, Belleville and LOVE LOVE LOVE (Red Stitch) and for HIT Love Letters, All My Love, Educating Rita and Always...Patsy Cline. LIGHTING DESIGNER – Clare Springett Clare Springett completed her Diploma of Live Production at Box Hill. Credits include Vile for La Mama, Ignatius Grail for Fringe 2015. Red Stitch credits where she is Resident Designer include Howie the Rookie, Orphans, Midsummer (A Play With Songs), 4,000 Miles, NSFW, Out of The Water (PM), Belleville, EURYDICE (Green Room Award Nominated for Best Lighting), Jumpers for Goalposts, Wet House, LOVE LOVE LOVE, The Village Bike and The River. Always Patsy Cline in 2016 was Clare’s first time with HIT. COSTUME COORDINATOR – Sophie Woodward Sophie Woodward is a VCA graduate whose work includes set and costume design for Letters from the Border at Hot House Theatre; set and costume design for Wet House and costume design for LOVE LOVE LOVE (Director: Denny Lawrence) at Red Stitch Theatre; set and costume design for Patient 12 at La Mama Courthouse; wardrobe stylist for Life is Better Blonde’s video clip Mine and costume coordinator for All My Love and Educating Rita (Director: Denny Lawrence) with HIT. SET CONSULTANT – Jacob Battista Jacob Battista completed a Bachelor of Production at the VCA. Credits include sets for The Lonely Wolf and Therese Raquin (Dirty Pretty Theatre/MTC Neon), LOVE LOVE LOVE (Red Stitch); Set & Costumes: Avenue Q – The Musical (Trifle Theatre),Carrie The Musical (Ghost Light), Jumpers for Goalposts, Belleville and Out Of The Water (Red Stitch). For HIT: Love Letters (Set & Costumes), The 39 Steps and Just The Ticket (Set), They’re Playing Our Song (Assoc.Designer), All My Love, Educating Rita and Always…Patsy Cline (Prod Design). ABOUT Shirley Valentine HIT had great success with this very well know play in 2008. Shirley Valentine, won the award for Best Comedy at the 1988 Laurence Olivier Awards, is a funny but moving piece. The play is about escape and takes the form of a monologue by a 42-year-old Liverpool mother and housewife, Mrs Joe Bradshaw, before and after a transforming holiday to Greece. Inside Mrs Joe Bradshaw is the former Shirley Valentine longing to emerge. Her self-esteem battered by school, marriage and life in general, she finds herself talking to the wall while her husband is out working. She feels that her life is terribly mundane as she compares scenes in her current life with what she used to be like and feels she has stagnated. When her best friend wins an all-expenses- paid vacation to Greece for two, Shirley grasps the opportunity to head for the sun and leave her current drudgery behind, to re-find herself, follow her dreams and to get a new lease on life. The note in the kitchen reads “Gone to Greece, back in two weeks”. With much humour, warmth, sym-pathy, human insight and a great deal of empathy for his female protagonist, Willy Russell brilliantly shows Shirley breaking out of the mould in which she was cast by society. SHIRLEY VALENTINE Tour History Commissioned by the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, Shirley Valentine premiered in 1986, with Noreen Kershaw directed by Glen Walford. Two years later it opened in London’s West End at the Vaudeville Theatre, with Pauline Collins directed by Simon Callow. The play won the Laurence Olivier awards for Best New Comedy and Best Actress. After eight previews, the Broadway production, with Collins again directed by Callow, opened on 16 February 1989 at the Booth Theatre, where it ran for 324 performances. The Broadway production was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play and won for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play. In 1989 the film version was released starring Pauline Collins in the titular role, earning her the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. In 2008, HIT Productions toured Shirley Valentine directed by Jennifer Hagan to 45 venues across Australia starring Glenda Linscott. HIT’s 16-week national tour to 44 venues of Shirley Valentine starring Mandi Lodge in 2017 will be directed by Denny Lawrence. Shirley Valentine celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2016. Shirley TOUR SCHEDULE NEW SOUTH WALES DAY DATE VENUE TOWN TIME Sat March 4 Sutherland Entertainment Centre Sutherland 8pm Wed March 8 Hurstville Entertainment Centre Hurstville 8pm Sat March 11 Dubbo Regional Theatre Dubbo 2pm Fri March 17 Jetty Memorial Theatre Coffs Harbour 8pm Sat March 18 Jetty Memorial Theatre Coffs Harbour 8pm Sat April 29 Broken Hill Civic Centre Broken Hill 3pm & 8pm Wed May 24 Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre Queanbeyan 8pm Thu May 25 Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre Queanbeyan 2pm & 8pm Fri May 26 Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre Queanbeyan 8pm Sat May 27 Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre Queanbeyan 2pm & 8pm Fri June 16 Laycock Street Theatre North Gosford 8pm Sat June 17 Laycock Street Theatre North Gosford 2pm & 8pm QUEENSLAND DAY DATE VENUE TOWN TIME Tue March 21 Z-PAC Theatre Hervey Bay 7:30pm Wed March 22 Z-PAC Theatre Hervey Bay 10am Thu March 23 The Events Centre Caloundra 7:30pm Sat March 25 Capella Cultural Centre Capella 7:30pm Tue March 28 Carlton Theatre Condon 7pm Wed March 29 Burdekin Theare AYR 7:30pm Fri March 31 World Theatre Charters Towers 8pm Sat April 1 Proserpine Entertainment Centre Proserpine 8pm Wed April 5 Redland Performing Arts Centre Cleveland 11am Thu April 6 Ipswich Civic Centre Ipswich 6:30pm Tue June 13 QUT Gardens Theatre Brisbane