Dreams oftentimes seem out of reach. People know what they want out of life, but seldom do their dreams come true.

Shirley Valentine, a middle-class English housewife, can relate to these feelings, providing the basis for “Shirley Valentine,” a one-woman play set in 1988.

The play begins with Valentine, a mother of two children, preparing a meal of chips and eggs for her family. Slaving over a stove, she ponders her past and the dreams she has left behind.

Jane Cox, an associate professor of theater at Iowa State, plays Shirley Valentine in the production of the play this weekend.

“She comes to a realization of what she used to dream of,” Cox said. She described Valentine as “funny” with a “serious side.”

As the play unfolds, Valentine contemplates an invitation to join a girlfriend in Greece in search of true romance and adventure. After Valentine’s husband shuns her meal, she escapes in favor of adventure and eventually decides to stay in Greece.

“Shirley Valentine is a truly exceptional woman, but not one to end up in the history books,” Cox said. “She has her own personality. Shirley is like most of us, who also will probably not end up in the history books.”

There is more to this play than just watching a woman recollect past memories, Cox said. “It is not just a woman’s script,” she said. “Men can learn from it as well. The search Shirley Valentine goes through is one that everyone goes through at some point in life.”

The question people continue to ask themselves in life is, Cox said, “Have I done all I can?”

The answer — well, you will have to see the play. But Cox did add that Valentine is like everyone else, who at some point, questions how life has evolved.

Written by Willy Russell, “Shirley Valentine” has been performed in London, New York and even visited Fisher Theater in June. The script was also made into a successful film.

This is the fourth time Cox has taken on a one-woman play. Her others have been “The Yellow Rose of Suffrage,” a biography of Carrie Chapman Catt; “The Belle of Amherst,” a portrait of Emily Dickinson; “Shuman,” a play about the German pianist.

Cox is also known for writing her own scripts. Her latest work looks at the life of the famous composer Johannes Brahms. Cox said the play will be performed at ISU soon.

Meanwhile, “Shirley Valentine” plays Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with a Sunday performance scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

Tickets for the play can be purchased for $7 for adults or $4.50 for students at the Iowa State Center Ticket Office, at all Ticketmaster outlets, or by calling 294-3347.