Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.

Pygmalion adapted from the play by George Bernard Shaw is being performed at Furzey Gardens from the 25th-27th July 2024. Bring a picnic, blanket, and chair to enjoy the production with a cast of four that has been adapted by Chris Hawley in a very English outside setting.

Uneducated and streetwise Eliza Doolittle (Scarlett Briant) is taken under the “wing” of phonetics teacher Henry Higgins (David McCulloch) who promises to teach Eliza how to speak properly and present her to high society within six months and make a lady of Eliza. His big idea sounds promising in theory but he never considers what Eliza will do after he has helped change her social standing!

Francesca McCrohon takes three major characters who funnily enough never meet each other on stage! From the well-to-do Mrs Higgins to the “gin-swilling” Mrs Doolittle. Bringing a different edge and accent to each character throughout the play. Her performance never lapses throughout the play or crosses over into the other characters, very impressive performance as each character has alot of dialogue.

Henry Higgins Maid played by Celia Jones tries very hard to catch his attention beyond a working relationship and continuously fails. She adds a gentle touch of comedy to the play and is undervalued by Higgins as one would expect her to be.

Director and designer Chris Hawley created an all-white stage to stand out in the outside garden setting which is predominantly shades of green. Which is a success as you could see the stage clearly from all angles in front of the stage. As the light fades the stage lighting casts an atmospheric feel across the production.

Furzey Gardens offers a very quintessential British atmosphere and setting for an established English play. For more information on Pygmalion and future productions at Furzey Gardens please visit the link below.

Photo Credit Simon Bell.

Four Stars.

https://www.minsteadtrust.org.uk/charity/events/black-box-theatre-present-pygmalion/