WITH 36 pages of closely typed dialogue to learn, in her first solo show, what possessed Eliza Hunt to say Yes to playing Shirley Valentine, Willy Russell's great escapee from Liverpool to Greece?

"Yes, it's complete madness, I know, but you don't think of that when people offer you work, you really don't - and if you did, you wouldn't do it," says Eliza.

"Instead, you think: 'Oh, marvellous, I've got a job' - but then actors always say the best day is when they get the job and then it's downhill all the way!"

In fact, Shirley Valentine has been anything but downhill for Eliza, whose solo performance opened in The Studio at York Theatre Royal last night.

"Obviously, you say yes to doing a part like this as it's such a fabulous role, and how many decent parts are there for women?" she says. "With Shirley, it's a joyous journey that you go on, especially when you think of the nature of an actor's life, and in particular a middle-aged actress's life, in terms of what you get asked to do."

Latterly, Eliza has played a "prison warder of some severity" in Plymouth in Wedekind's play Musik - a role she had earlier performed in Terence Rattigan's Cause at the Hammersmith Lyric - and a stern head mistress in the television series Urban Gothic.

Shirley Valentine, the Liverpool housewife with the stagnant marriage and the ready, ruddy wit, is a wonderful contrast. "My agent put me up for the role and to my great surprise and pleasure, Susan director Susan Stern chose me for it.

Learning line upon line has been an exacting task. "You do the first learn, then a re-learn, then another," Eliza says. "It's like painting a wall: you have to leave it to dry and then do another coat. The aim is to have the dialogue so word perfect that it becomes natural to you."

In the methodical graft of memorising the script, as much as in rehearsal, Eliza has shaped her portrayal of Shirley. "It comes organically: learning the lines is how you absorb the character but on top of that I'm extremely lucky to have a voice coach as the director."

Lines conquered, there was then the matter of the Scouse accent. "My native accent is Received Pronunciation but I don't think you can do Shirley any other way than the Liverpool way because this play is about that city - and women talk differently to men in Liverpool!" she says.

"If people want to find fault with my Liverpool accent, fair enough, as long as I bring the part and the play alive - and it's not just a Liverpool voice I have to do; Shirley does all the characters." To that end, she has put her gardening hobby to good use. "I know a lot of Greek Cypriots on my North London allotment and so I got the husband of one of my friends to record Costas's speeches for me. My Greek accent through Shirley isn't great, but he is sexy my Costas, he is sexy!"

Least difficult to perfect has been Shirley's preparation of a chips-and-eggs supper in the first act. "Luckily I'm a good cook," says Eliza.

Shirley Valentine, The Studio, York Theatre Royal, until May 25. Box office: 01904 623568.

Updated: 09:28 Friday, May 03, 2002