Pygmalion, arguably George Bernard Shaws best loved work, is a comedy of class, identity and morality, with just a hint of feminism.
Henry Higgins, professor of phonetics, is challenged by his friend and colleague Colonel Pickering to turn common flower girl Eliza Doolittle into a lady and, within a given time, pass her off as a duchess. Eliza, in her desire to “better herself” engages the professor’s extraordinary talents. But who changes who? And for better or worse?
Writer Sandy Nelson and director Liz Carruthers reset the tale in Edinburgh at the turn of the 20th Century, a time of great social, political, artistic and technological change in Scotland.
Shaw takes his title from the Greek fable about the sculptor Pygmalion who falls in love with his marble creation and with a kiss brings her to life.
As Eliza might say: " A real stoatir of a show, don't you know."
A minor work of genius, somehow capturing almost every significant moment of Shaw’s great drama about language, class and gender politics within its short span.
A Play, a Pie and a Pint, Glasgow from Monday June 11, 2012, until Saturday June 16, 2012. More info: http://playpiepint.com