The Shirley Best Experience.
Her name is Shirley Best!!....cut above the rest, just put her to the test!!
This
is the self avowed "battle cry" that spurs on this campy yet charismatic
fifty something housewife as she embarks on her search for self fulfilment.
And she's not afraid to shout it out from time to time, although it's
"usually when her hormones are unstable."
Shirley looks at the world from her own inimitable, down to earth point of view and offers up a charmingly irreverent commentary on everything from pantyhose to psychoanalysis.
Married forever to the hapless Cecil who, due to emotional trauma, has
been rendered less than adequate in the bedroom, Shirley is not content
to spend her menopausal years picking up empty beer cans and retrieving
the remote control from down behind the couch
cushions.
No!! Not when there's so much more in life to explore, clearly evident from those scintillating articles in Cosmo magazine.
A veritable high priestess of polyester, she is always impeccably colour coordinated in flamboyant fashion ensembles that are right on target.... except somebody moved the bullseye.
Her prized possession is a fortrel Chanel knock off reminiscent of Jackie Kennedy, that might of had a hope of fitting her 50 pounds ago. But Shirley is oblivious to the material straining over her proudly rubenesque curves."I have the body of an erotic fertility goddess trapped in an era of Calvin Klein androgyny."
And she exhorts the liberated modern women to stop striving towards the unrealistic "model" figure and, instead, to learn to love her thighs, cellulite and all.Everybody has had a "Shirley" in their life, undoubtedly one of the reasons for her demonstrated mass appeal. That and the fact that her hilarious musings bear an uncanny resemblance to the common experiences of every day living.
She is your mother times ten, the person behind you in the Wal Mart checkout lineup. The eccentric aunt all the other relatives gossip about. Everybody has had a Shirley in their life.
One delighted reviewer described her as a cross between "Oprah, Anthony Robbins and Roseanne".
Reviews
Comedian Zandra Bell opened the show to a round of roaring applause as her alter ego Shirley Best. On stage in a glam outfit that combined what she called Godzilla meets lost In Space, Best thrilled the audience with one-liners about the joys of outdoor living.
"I can't get into this dining al fresco. Biting into something while something's biting into you."
Women In Comedy Show - Edmonton Street Performers Festival
Edmonton Journal
She leads a double life. One body - two women. On one hand meet Zandra Bell, with her long luscious copper curls, impeccable makeup and a chic sense of style...On the other hand meet Shirley Best, a frumpy fifty-something, she wears little (much to little!!!) suits, dorky glasses, rouge that glows like a pair of nuclear apples and, always, a pert hat...
..."It's like having a gross Barbie doll to play with", says Bell of her other self.
Shirley entertained the troupes of Real Women at our annual getaway last weekend at the Jasper park Lodge. With a delivery that matched the speed and sensitivity of a machine gun, she has 250 women rolling in the aisles as she poked fun at men, women and life....
...And there is something totally endearing about Shirley adds Bell,"When people talk to Shirley, and glimpse her personality and humour, it transcends her physical appearance. She brings out the realness in people cause she's so real herself".
Edmonton Sun
"With wit, humour, flowered fortrel and the battle of support hose, Shirley Best introduced staff to the real meaning of Best Practices. The general staff meeting started like any other, until Shirley Best barged in as an early customer offering her apologies for interrupting, and taking over the Best Practices instruction".
"Her colorful examples had everyone roaring with laughter but taking the points to heart. Shirley is now referred to as our Best practises mentor. "
HSBC Bank Newsletter
"Shirley is a fifty-something woman with a penchant for skin tight polyester. Shirley tells everything like it is with the courage to speak one's mind that comes with advanced age. She's the kind of woman who would make you consider moving your shopping cart if you happened to get behind her in a grocery store line- up...."
"...On stage, however, there's no avoiding the charm Best emits, a kind of Charlie Farquarson salt-of-the-earth humour. But while Charlie Farquarson is destined to stay on the farm forever, Shirley is keeping up with the times. Bell describes her alter ego's progress....."
"Through Cosmo magazine and self awareness she's become much more cosmopolitan. She's not afraid to shine. She's comfortable with her own power".
Vue Magazine
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