Hall lets Pygmalion do a little too much

Tag : continuously cast

PETER Hall’s production of Pygmalion is correct in allrespects, except in its preference for spectacle over subtlety. Asa result it feels at times a little over the top.
Having toured before this opening at the Old Vic, it’s aproperly run-in production which deals well with the play’simportant themes.
Eliza Doolittle reveals herself to be a strong woman, rising from“squashed cabbage leaf” to distinguished lady. Morethan that, she manages what Shaw would have considered as truegrowth and maturation: she becomes independent.
“By George, Eliza, I said I’d make a woman of you; andI have. I like you like this,” Higgins exclaims in the lastact. Eliza achieves her full potential, despite her background andgender.
Another key subject of the play is social snobbery, signified bythe importance of accents. There’s little doubt that receivedpronunciation is more beautiful than Cockney. But when language andaccent, like social manners, trade meaning and beauty for status,they betray their true purpose. In Act V, Liza asks Pickering:“You know what began my real education? Your calling me MissDoolittle that day when I first came to Wimpole Street. That wasthe beginning of self-respect for me.”
Michelle Dockery makes for a beautiful Eliza and is the mostconvincing of the performance’s actors, albeit occasionallytoo exaggerated. Overall though, her skilled and credibleinterpretation helps in making Hall’s production convincing.
The tendency to exaggeration is a fault that the rest of the castshare.
Tim Piggot-Smith’s Henry Higgins continuously twitches andgesticulates. Higgins is certainly a perfect eccentric but not aneurotic. He is, as Clara notes in Act III “quite eligiblematrimonially”.
Emma Noakes’ Clara offers another of the evening’sbetter performances but when she bids farewell to Higgins, sheseems to experience an orgasm;unlikely, for a well-bred Edwardianyoung lady.
Other characters verge on caricature. Tony Haygarth’s AlfredDoolittle is too clownish. His role is hilarious but heshouldn’t feel the need to add to Shaw’s comedy, whichspeaks for itself. It’s a shame because as a result hischaracter becomes less human and by overdoing the comedy, losessome of its intensity and humour.
The same goes for Una Stubbs’ Mrs Pearce. She’s alate-Victorian model housekeeper, severe but kindly and with astrong personality. Hall’s direction makes her too jolly andagain, a touch over the top — a real pity as her soberpersonality should offer an entertaining contrast to Higgins’eccentricity.
Hall’s production is enjoyable without completely aweing thespectator. We’re left waiting for the spark which wouldproperly kindle Shaw’s play, just as the mythical Pygmaliondid with Galatea.
Pygmalion is at the Old Vic Theatre, London, until August 9.