Janet has the Wright Stuff

Posted by Coral Andrews May 3, 2006

Many women have played Shirley Valentine and I do love Pauline Collins' interpretation. (Collins recently had the distinction of being on venerable BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who as Queen Victoria.)

But I have fond memories of another Shirley.

Here in Canada,Corner Gas star Janet Wright, also played this mid-age heroine at The Stratford Festival just before Richard Monette took the artistic director's helm. I've covered the Stratford Festival for many years, but never had a backstage pass until I met Ms. Wright.

The House Manager of the Tom Patterson Theatre (then Third Stage) brought me back to Wright who was in The Slut Hut, a cozy little dressing room; 'utterly corrupt and unprincipled', a fabulously chaotic place where actors were banished when they smoked, including Stratford grand dame, Wright's close friend and comic foil, the late Kate Reid.

Ms. Wright immediately put me at ease. She laughed and told me she needed a staple gun to keep all her Shirley well-wishers' cards on the walls. I was wearing a pair of coloured glass tear-drop earrings which had cost me a mere five bucks at my favourite sally-ann. Janet loved them, and by interview's end, I gave them to her in case 'Shirley' felt inspired to wear them one night. This role proved to be a turning point in Janet's life as her sister, actress Susan Wright, had died tragically and Janet had as a tribute to her sister, and her family, bravely decided to carry on in Susan's place.

"When I am out there doing this show, we are doing it together. I didn't want to do it this at first, because it was such an overwhelming experience but then I started to miss Susan really badly. I'd rather if they were going to carry on with it, that it was me because it's sort of for them, and they would be proud of me.

"Willy Russell is amazing. I just can't believe Shirley Valentine was written by a man. There are times when I was learning this," Wright says (pointing out that the lines were very hard to learn because of the rhythms in them), "and it's not easy stuff to learn, but you couldn't say one word wrong because of the way Russell phrases things and he just knows women really well. It is incredible. That's why for me it couldn't have been a better time to do this in my life because in a way it was reaffirming to me that you can go through just about anything. You can either come out bitter, angry, or else the other way. That's been my journey with the role, cup half-empty, cup half-full. This particular show means a great deal to me and couldn't be more perfect."