But though parts included James in James and the Giant Peach on stage, and roles in Boys from the Blackstuff and later Brookside on TV, it seems that to play Shirley Valentine was always, to borrow a theme from the play, her destiny.

Hollinshead knew the director Ronan Wilmot from over 23 years ago when they met at the Liverpool Playhouse. "We've always kept in touch and remained friends, " says Hollinshead. "He always said to me, 'One day you'd be perfect for Shirley Valentine' . . . and this is the perfect time."

And now her one-woman rendition of the iconic role created by Willy Russell is packing them in to such an extent at Dublin's New Theatre in Temple Bar that the show has been extended to run to 8 September. The comedy value of Russell's story of isolation and fulfilment is already familiar, thanks to the success of its film version.

Shirley is a lonely housewife in Thatcherite Liverpool, driven to talking to the wall of her sitting room for want of company. When her divorced friend Jane wins a holiday to Greece and takes Shirley along, her life finally begins to feel her own. It's a bleak but hopeful and funny story of change and its message resonates with audiences even now.

"I think most people recognise, even the men who come to see the show, there'll always be a point in their lives where they feel they could do a lot more or they need a change, or they're in a rut, " says Hollinshead. "It's about somebody who sees a tiny opportunity to break out of what she had set herself up for, which is the domestic woman at home . . .essentially in a prison, talking to the wall. No career.

Children left home. Totally isolated and lonely. I think everyone's had a stage in their lives when they feel they've just got to break out of what they're currently in and try to change their lives before it's too late."

Pauline Collins, of course, has 'owned' the role since her Oscar-nominated performance changed middle-aged women's lives back in '89. But Hollinsworth doesn't feel a bit intimidated.

"No, not at all, " she says. "Because this is the original script, which was written before the film. It was written as a one-woman show, and I think I can give Pauline Collins a run for her money! I think the film is terrific but the play is, I think, better."

The Liverpudlian gets her acting chops around all the parts of Shirley's family and friends, from Greek lover Costas to lackadaisical husband Joe, demanding his matrimonial right to egg and chips as soon as he comes home for tea.

The popularity of the play here in Dublin is down to the relationship between the Irish and Liverpool.

"I think because of the Irish connection, Liverpool has a love of language and love of storytelling.

Russell started out as a hairdresser, so he got used to hearing proper natural dialogue, how people really spoke. And I think it's the same with a lot of Irish drama. It's how people really communicate with each other, and people really respond to that."

Shirley herself ends up working in a restaurant in Greece, cooking the same egg and chips as she did before, but with a new lease of life. "There's been an inner change in her, an inner journey has taken place, " says Hollinshead. "She's happy. She feels she can be herself. She's Shirley Valentine again, she feels she has made a break. She's free."

Shirley Valentine is in the New Theatre, Temple Bar until 8 September before a nationwide tour in October. Niamh O'Doherty