Pygmalion

Company: Queensland Theatre Company
Venue: Playhouse, QPAC, Brisbane
Dates: to 27 November 2011

What a fantastic final farewell production from Michael Gow. This show was originally meant to be the opening show for the season, but the January floods put paid to that. But the wait was well worthwhile.

I’ve seen Pygmalion before, several times in fact – but never quite like this. Gow edited Shaw’s script, added a few lines of his own, and took away the Shavian pomposity. He also used Shaw’s original; non-resolution ending, which is much more satisfactory than the one where Eliza married Freddy Eynsford Hill.

It was a fantastic night out with more laughs than I have ever seen in the play before. And the F word was never used to such comic effect before I’m sure.

It was so much fun it felt more like My Fair Lady than Pygmalion. In fact there were times when I expected the actors to break into song. There was some singing too – mainly from Nat King Cole recordings of his hit songs that married very nicely and often comically with the plotline.

This perfectly balanced prosecution was all due to Gow’s brilliant direction and casting. And what a cast! Robert Coleby was the perfect Henry Higgins. His timing was spot on and he delivered all those caustic lines perfectly. Bryan Probets was the very proper Colonel Pickering and the two bounced off each other like a comedy duo.

Stephen Curtis designed the show and even this added an extra dimension of fun. Most of the action was performed in front of a huge scrim which was a map of inner London – and he had a spotlight travelling up and down the streets to show locations. Shorter scenes were played behind the scrim and worked well – especially the hilarious Eliza bath scene. That was a hoot.

The idea also took away the need for extensive set changes and so the action was kept moving without blackouts.

I liked the fact that the timeline was updated to the 1950s; it made costuming easier and made Eliza a much more elegant lady with Dior-copy dresses and an Audrey Hepburn hairstyle.

It also added credence to Eliza’s famous faux pas. When the play was first produced in 1912 audience were shocked into silence when she said “Walk? Not bloody likely!” Of course that doesn’t shock any more. In My Fair Lady they gave her the Ascot line “Come on Rover, move your bloody arse” as an updated shocker.

How far do you go? The audience was once again shocked into silence when Eliza dropped the F word very appropriately as part of the “new slang” - even if Gow added a few lines earlier to prime us to the fact that it was a word of common usage in Eliza’s part of town. It was done with perfect timing and the silence soon turned to yells of laughter

For me it will also go down as the night a star was born, Melanie Zanetti as Eliza Doolittle just stole the show. She shone among a very experienced and illustrious bunch of actors who were all individually terrific. She had me almost crying with laughter in parts and teary eyed at others. She is such a tiny thing but what a huge talent. Her “squashed cabbage” accent was perfect and just so funny.

It did take a while to get the ears attuned, but that is because we’re not used to that sort of accent any more, but we soon understood every word she said. She also created a warm and so loveable Eliza. Her timing was exactly what the director wanted too  - I know because is at behind Michael Gow and he mouthed every line she said. It was like lip-synching!

I can’t wait now to see her next year as Shakespeare’s Juliet.

Kay Stevenson was great too as Henry Higgins’ mum. The scenes with Robert Coleby were perfect mother and naughty boy occasions and Andrea Moore was one of the best maids I’ve seen in a while as well as the loud American Ambassador’s wife and a bystander – there were quite a few of those too. Most actors doubled or trebled up at times.

I loved Carol Burns and Kerith Atkinson as the Eynsford Hills and Christopher Sommers was the perfect Freddy, especially when he stood clutching his flowers “on the street where she lives”. Chris Betts was nicely expansive as Alfred Doolittle and Penny Everingham was a crusty Mrs Pearce.

Great credit too goes to dialect coach Melissa Agnew. It was amazing to hear all those top Aussie actors swinging into the British accent. It’s a fabulous show and you need to be quick to see it because it is a short but very sweet season which ends on November 27. 

Eric Scott