|
 |
Pygmalion Odeon Theatre, Norwood Sat 30 July - Season closed The acclaimed poet W.H. Auden has described Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance of Being Earnest' as being the only purely verbal opera we have in English. It's an insightful statement: however, I would suggest that Shaw's 'Pygmalion' is just as virtuosic a piece. In fact its mix of accents makes it even harder to produce effectively and towards this end, this current Independent Theatre production contains much that amounts to an enjoyable production. The first thing of note lies in the fact that Rob Croser and David Roach have swapped their usual roles - Croser plays Higgins whilst Roach directs - but such is the power of Croser's presence as an actor that he stills seems to be running the show at times, rather than taking direction. He is generally convincing, but has a tendency (in the earlier acts of the play) to race through his lines. And in a piece where accents play such an integral part, more attention - in fact, a vocal coach - may well have aided the majority of this enthusiastic cast in leaning towards a tauter delivery of GBS's witty lines. Timing and accent are as important in 'Pygmalion' as in Wilde's comedies of manners. Tahli Corin's flower girl Eliza Doolittle starts out a little too histrionically, but by the third act, where she is introduced at one of Mrs Higgins' afternoons, she gains the laughs that she should. And this is not an easy task, given the famous predecessors in the role: Wendy Hiller in the classic film version from the 1930s, and of course both Julie Andrews and Audrey Hepburn in Lerner and Loewe's effective and popular musical treatment of the show, 'My Fair Lady'. Equally effective are Graham Nerlich as Pickering and Najwa Basheer's Mrs Higgins who strengthens the parallels between the role and Wilde's formidable Lady Bracknell. The simple sets offered by Roach - a square of columns providing not only the proscenium arch but the theatre's frontage in Act One and Henry Higgins' study - work well; however, it does mean that greater emphasis is placed upon the actors and their delivery of Shaw's script. Gone are the lush sets and costumes that we associate with Cecil Beaton and the film version of Lerner and Loewe's musical, as is any romantic suggestion that Higgins and Eliza will end up happily together at the end of the play. Here Roach is thankfully more content to follow the dictates of Shaw's original pro-feminist play. However, the enthusiasm that both Croser and Roach evidently hold for the play should point to a production that becomes tauter as the season progresses.  |
|
The latest issue available now!     |
All content copyright dB Magazine