Shirley Valentine 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. 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. Ellen Burstyn replaced Collins later in the run, and Loretta Swit starred in a US national tour in 1995. From 26 March - 8 May 2010, as part of the Willy Russell season at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Meera Syal played Shirley in the production's first London West
Title role character need not be the subject of the whole title in a strict grammatical sense: Uncle Tom is the title character of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and Lee Marvin is often described as playing the title character in the film "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", as his character (Liberty Valance) is named in the title, even though the subject of the title is the person who shot him. A title character may be the main antagonist, e.g. Sauron in "The Lord of the Rings" or Bram Stoker's "Dracula". In "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", the wizard is the title character,