Pygmalion
by George Bernard Shaw, directed by Tony Turner. Canberra Repertory Society, Theatre 3,
September 12 to October 4, 2008,
8pm. Bookings 6257 1950.
The aura of My Fair
Lady might have made staging the original play, Pygmalion, seem dull. Not a bit of it. The intensity of the characters’
relationships, the clarity of Shaw’s ideas, and the quality of the comedy are
far better, and Rep’s production does the play justice.
Jessica Brent looks
and sounds as Eliza should, and shows her growing towards true
independence. She may have overplayed
the “guttersnipe” a little, but received justified applause for the meeting Mrs
Higgins scene and the presentation to the Ambassador, where she looked
stunning. On this point, costumes and
sets thoughout the production were terrific.
Jerry Hearn’s
Higgins is even true to the original actor’s personality defects. Shaw himself directed Sir Herbert Beerbohm
Tree who “was so completely preoccupied with himself that he was always
surprised when anyone else spoke”. Though Tree had no idea of acting by Shaw’s
standards, he naturally appeared just as Shaw imagined Higgins. Hearn’s unbelieving scorn overlaying Higgins’
inability to deal with his loss in the final line “Nonsense: she’s going to
marry Freddy. Ha ha! Freddy!
Freddy!! Ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!” captured both the comedy and the darker
undertones that Turner mentioned in his Director’s Notes.
Each of the other
key actors - John Honey as Pickering, Ian Croker as Eliza’s father Alfred
Doolittle, Helen Vaughan-Roberts as Mrs Higgins - matched the central roles,
with strong support from Liz Bradley (Mrs Pearce) and the Eynsford-Hill family
of Judi Crane, Jodi McAlister and Nicholas Tranter.
There was some
nervousness on opening night, with a few lines dropped and some pacing a bit
slow in the second half. But confidence
will soon grow in this well directed and designed production. It is a great joy to see the real George
Bernard Shaw as it should be done on stage.
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