"The only holiday romance I've had is with myself, and... and I think I've come to like myself really. I think I'm alright."
The 'going on holiday and finding yourself' genre is a pretty overcrowded one by now, but Shirley Valentine still stands out as one of the best examples. Down-to-earth, witty and deeply honest, it stars the luminous Pauline Collins, who also played the role when it was a one-woman play, as Shirley Valentine.
Our protagonist is an underappreciated Liverpudlian housewife, who thinks back to her rebellious teenage self and wonders where that girl went. When a friend offers to bring her on a holiday to Greece, Shirley agrees, to her surprise – and the judgement of her family. In a new place, forced to rely on herself, she slowly finds her way back to who she was, and still is at her core.
Come along if you need a reminder that life is for living, an antidote to inward-looking Englishness, or just a good laugh.
"I have allowed myself to lead this little life, when inside me there was so much more. And it's all gone unused. And now it never will be. Why do we get all this life if we don't ever use it? Why do we get all these feelings and dreams and hopes if we don't ever use them?"
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