Pygmalion

(Sydney Theatre Company)

George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion is more popularly known nowadays in it's musical adaptation form, My Fair Lady. I have seen the musical both on stage and in film but have never seen Shaw's original work. I was bit concerned I would find the experience of seeing Shaw's play flat knowing that those well known tunes would not appear at the relevant moments of the story.

Silly me. I should not have worried. Shaw's play is one of the classics of theatre for good reason. It is beautifully written and a wonderful study of gender politics and Britain's class structure.

This production by the Sydney Theatre Company has received middling reviews in part for being staged bare of any sets and in modern dress. Neither of these aspects concerned me. Yes the stage, back and side walls are totally bare apart from the occasional item of furniture or equipment but all this did for me was remove any distraction from the beauty of the dialogue. As for the actors' clothing I found the style 'time neutral' rather than modern. Many of the costumes could have originated in any of the last eighty years or so. No doubt an expert could destroy my last point but that's how I saw it as a fashion layperson.

An unexpected pleasure.