Frustratingly, given the high points of directing and acting, the play slipped too often into amateurism. Props falling over, lines being fumbled and haphazard scene changes held back the usual high quality of the production. At times the staging could be static; the opening scene sees the cast in an uncomfortable line with Higgins lurking somewhat unconvincingly in the background.
But such disappointments were thankfully juxtaposed by moments of brilliance. At the beginning of the altogether more compelling second half, a ballroom scene takes place, which is wonderfully fluid and majestic, with conversation between actors in perfect tandem with the rhythm of the dance. Bernard Shaw’s own disdain for such vacuous social occasions with their superficial manners and etiquette was well conveyed in a pronounced, satirical pause before the actors began the dance.
The irritating inconsistency could be applied to the central figure of Professor Higgins. One could not help but notice the amount of times lines were muffled or incoherent. Generously, this could be seen as ironic give the fact that this is a world-class professor in phonetics and the art of speech, and diction. More critically however, this could be seen as a regrettable casting faux pas. Nonetheless, when Higgins spontaneously impersonates Eliza’s lowly yelp, the audience recoils into ecstasy followed by a deserved round of applause in approval.
Moments of tension in the play are wonderfully teased out by the directors. The audience waited with much anticipation for Eliza to enter her first formal social occasion. Her slow contrived speech was captivating, the audience eager for her to succeed. Yet Eliza lets herself down when she exits the stage with a ‘not bloody likely’, exposing that her transformation is not quite complete.
Wonderfully contrasting this was just how completely she was played. Eliza, from the off, aspires to be a lady and Shea performs her character with subtlety and nuance. Time and again the delicacy of her performance rescued the unfortunate, although occasionally unavoidable, mishaps of a production falling just short of its potential. Eliza Doolittle is a complex role to play, and as such much reward for the success of this production must go to a polished and considered performance.
Performances from other actors were convincing too. Colonel Pickering (David Edward) and Mrs. Higgins (Ela Gaworzewska) both fulfill their roles very professionally and Tatton-Brown is perhaps at his best when him and Pickering are simultaneously enthused about the prospect of altering Eliza, or when Mrs. Higgins is chastising Higgins for his lack of basic manners. Mr. Doolittle (Joel Brooks) mirrors the pattern of the play, with an ever increasingly impressive performance.
However at the crux of a frustrated walk home was an obsession with what seemed like wonton comedy. There are tragic and deeper veins running through the play but they are unfortunately overshadowed by the gratuitous demand for one too many laughs.
There is a resounding indifference amongst the audience when what should have been a moment of poignancy at end the play was muted. At a basic comedic level this is a brilliant production of Pygmalion, but in uncovering the depths of Bernard-Shaw’s socio-political explorations of the class divide, or in creating what should have been a more profound relationship between Eliza and Higgins, the play falls disappointingly short.