Shirley Valentine

Shirley Valentine plays Mermaid Arts Centre in Bray for one night on Saturday 28 November 2026, with Norma Sheahan performing one of theatre’s best-known solo roles. The touring production marks 40 years since Willy Russell’s play first premiered in 1986, and follows a 45-year-old Liverpool housewife who steps out of her mundane daily routine and takes an unexpected trip to Greece to reclaim a sense of herself she thought was long gone.

What to Expect

The play runs 115 minutes including an interval, and is staged as a one-woman show carried entirely by Sheahan’s performance, moving between comic monologue and something more reflective as Shirley’s story unfolds. The venue’s own billing promises laughter and poignancy in roughly equal measure, and the character’s talking-to-the-kitchen-wall opening has become one of the most recognisable set-ups in modern British and Irish theatre. Coming on the play’s 40th anniversary, this is a chance to see a well-loved script performed by an experienced solo actor rather than a large-cast revival, in the kind of intimate room where a one-woman show works best.

Getting There

Mermaid Arts Centre is on Main Street in Bray town centre, a short walk from Bray Dart and rail station, with public car parks nearby and regular Dublin Bus and Dart services into the town.

While You’re in Bray

Bray’s seafront and Main Street restaurants are a few minutes’ walk from the Mermaid, so a Saturday night show pairs easily with dinner beforehand or a walk along the promenade. There is more to see in Bray and across Co. Wicklow.

Good to Know

• Date and time: Saturday 28 November 2026, 8pm
• Venue: Mermaid Arts Centre, Main Street, Bray
• Price: €26
• Duration: 115 minutes including interval
• Booking: online via the Mermaid Arts Centre website; box office 01 272 4030 for accessible seating