15/11/24

Bedlam Theatre, Edinburgh

We last saw Pygmalion in 2010 at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre, with Cush Jumbo and Simon Robson as the central duo. Fourteen years later, we’re at Bedlam, keen to see what EUTC will do with George Bernard Shaw’s famous tale of transcending social boundaries. The promo material promises an interesting modernisation, as working-class biology student, Eliza, fresh from Belfast, comes into the orbit of English trust fund baby, Henry, at Edinburgh university.

Directors Shira David and Victoria Ge do a good job of illuminating the play’s humour, the acerbic dialogue and pratfalls eliciting belly laughs from the audience. However, the updated premise doesn’t quite work for me. In the original version, Eliza is in real need and Henry’s tuition offers her a way out of her poverty. What’s more, in 1913, when the play was set, accents were directly linked to opportunity: if Eliza Doolittle could learn to speak like a lady, a different world would open up to her. I find myself struggling to see what’s in it for this Eliza. It’s asking a lot of an audience to accept that a student at a prestigious university is “in the gutter” just because she has an Irish accent – she sounds the same as my GP and local pharmacist, as film stars and TV presenters. We need to see more of her struggle to believe in it. An evening job selling flowers isn’t such a hardship, after all. Nor is it clear why this young Henry Higgins – himself a student – wants to take on the project. This isn’t helped by the scene transitions: long blackouts cover minimal scenery changes, slowing down the action and pulling us out of Eliza and Henry’s world, making it harder for us to suspend our disbelief.

Costume-wise, the coding needs to be clearer. Eliza has an expensive-looking hair cut and brand new Dr Marten’s at the beginning but keeps on her ripped tights even when she’s been re-styled. It also comes as a shock at the end of the play when Eliza says that Henry is too old for her, because that hasn’t been signalled prior to this moment.

Despite these misgivings, it’s an enjoyable production. Connie Bailie has all the requisite charm for Eliza and Frankie Reid is suitably churlish as Henry. George Laing’s Pickering is perhaps the most convincingly-drawn character – disinterested and affable, outwardly pleasant but ultimately untouched by Eliza’s plight. Michael Healey provides comic relief as the hapless Freddy Eynsford-Hill, while Lisa Gillham, Aislinn McSharry and Mia Cresswell-Melstrøm work well as a trio of posh young women, supportive of Eliza and rolling their eyes at their pal Henry’s all-too-familiar nonsense.

In the end, this is a laudable idea that doesn’t quite come off – but I remain impressed by EUTC’s drive and ambition. After all, “What is life but a series of inspired follies?”

3 stars

Susan Singfield