Review: Shirley Valentine – Byre Theatre, St Andrews

First published in The Times, Thursday July 30 2015

Three Stars

The unique selling point of live theatre is, of course, its unpredictability. Due to bereavement the actress Angela Darcy has had to withdraw from the Byre’s production of Shirley Valentine, with Irene Allan her eleventh hour replacement. With barely two days’ rehearsal under her belt, Allan bravely takes to the stage for the opening night of Willy Russell’s bittersweet comedy, performing the second part of the play with the script in hand.