The much loved classic, My Fair Lady, hits town. The Lerner & Loewe musical, based on George Bernard Shaw’s classic, Pygmalion, first hit the stage as far back as 1913, but this modern revival remains true to the original.
The Ancient Greeks taught us a thing or two with their myths and tales and Bernard Shaw’s play was based on the tale of said Pygmalion. But here, Pygmalion becomes Henry Higgins, a professor of phonetics, who, as in the Greek myth, falls in love with one of his creations, in this case the flower girl, Eliza Doolittle.
Henry stumbles upon Eliza selling her flowers on a wet evening in Covent Garden and, after accepting a bet, vows that he can change her speech from “estuary” English to that of a cultured lady and be able to pass her off as a duchess in six months. He believes that it is speech patterns and not money that determines a persons’ social status.
We follow Eliza (Charlotte Kennedy, excellent) as she undergoes her gruelling training at the hands of Higgins (Michael D Xavier, suitably eccentric) whilst the “experiment” is monitored by Colonel Pickering (John Middleton).
It wouldn’t be a musical without someone being on the make and of course that is the case here. Eliza’s father, Alfred (Adam Woodyatt, Ian Beale in Eastenders), a drunkard, sees an opportunity to make some money forcing Higgins to pay him off.
Of course Henry is successful in his endeavours, but once the “experiment” comes to an end Eliza has fulfilled her purpose she is dismissed by Higgins. Finding herself cast adrift and helpless, Eliza falls between the world she has left and the world that was imagined whilst Higgins reflects on the love that he has for his protégé, a love that he is unable to express.
And how does it all end? Well that would be telling!
The stage is a constant revolving door between the sets transporting us back to Covent Garden, Henry Higgins home and the world to which Eliza herself is transported, whilst the score also remains true to the original. All the songs you would expect and want to hear are here, and the costumes, particularly for the ladies are spectacular. How Eliza manages to keep her enormous, but extremely glamorous hat on at the races I’ll never know!
If I have one criticism, that is that, at a little over 3 hours including interval, the show is a tad too long. Some of the “fat” could be cut to make it a little shorter. But apart from that, this is a traditional musical that will give you a food night out. Go and enjoy it!
The show plays at Bristol Hippodrome until Saturday 25 February and then moves on to Birmingham and Manchester. For tickets and more information follow this link.
