Nuffield Theatre
onTuesday 18th to Saturday 22nd January 2005
The Director, Mollie Eliza Manns wrote:
Bernard Shaw, as his family wish him to be known, declared - "I am a moral revolutionary, interested, not in class war, but in the struggle between human vitality and the artificial struggle of morality, and distinguishing, not between capitalist and proletarian, but between moralist and natural historian."
Some of the ideas about class and morality are expressed in Pygmalion, particularly in some of the speeches delivered by Alfred Doolittle, arguably Shaw's mouthpiece. In the story of Ovid, Pygmalion was a sculptor who carved his perfect woman who, when she came to life, was the ideal woman who always did as he bade her!! Eliza Doolittle did not always do as ordered by Professor Higgins. However he did create a new woman capable of becoming almost anything she wished.
It is fascinating to ponder what she may have become - especially after the world changed in 1914.
In his preface to Pygmalion Shaw wrote - "The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach their children to speak it. They spell it so abominably that no man can teach himself what it sounds like. It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him. German and Spanish are accessible to foreigners: English is not accessible even to Englishmen. The reformer England needs today is an energetic phonetic enthusiast: that is why I have made such a one the hero of this popular play".
| Cast | |
| Child 1 | Olivia Thomas |
| Child 2 | Georgia Griffiths-Hackett |
| Child 3 | Ce-nedra Browne |
| Child 4 | Talison Browne |
| Prostitute 1 | Rachel Thomas |
| Prostitute 2 | Sarah Russell |
| Client | Jonny Hearn |
| Flower Girl 1 | Nicky Lee |
| Flower Girl 2 | Alex Austin |
| Beggar | Ron Randall |
| Theatre goer 1 | Alan Watson |
| Theatre goer 2 | Jo Iacovou |
| Theatre goer 3 | David Collis |
| Theatre goer 4 | Moyra Allen |
| Pick pocket | Richard Hackett |
| Bystander | Jez Minns |
| Sarcstic bystander | Adam Taussik |
| Freddie Aynsford-Hill | Matt Avery |
| Clara Eynsford-Hill | Rachael Courage |
| Mrs. Eynsford-Hill | Hazel Burrows |
| Eliza Doolittle | Karen Bridle |
| Colonel Pickering | Guy Boney |
| Professor Henry Higgins | Ian Morley |
| Mrs. Pearce | Christine Baker |
| Alfred Doolittle | Albie Minns |
| Mrs Higgins | Avril Woodward |
| Parlour Maid 1 | Jo Iacovou |
| Parlour Maid 2 | Alex Austin |
| For the Maskers | |
| Director | Mollie Eliza Manns |
| Production Manager | Richard Hackett |
| Costumes | Serena Brown |
| Lighting Design | Colin Maltby |
| Lighting Assistants | Paul Mills, David Fancett, Tony Lawther |
| Sound | Martin Clift |
| Stage Manager | Angie Barks |
| Marketing | Angie Stansbridge |
| Properties | Gill Buchanan, Ella Lockett, Liz Hall,Alison Tebutt, Maria Head |
| Set Design | John Hamon |
| Set Construction | David Jupp, Graham Buchanan, John Hamon |
| Photography | Clive Weeks |
| Poster Design | John Hamon |
| Stage Crew | Phil Moody, Ralph Bateman, John Johns, Mark Scobles, Adrian Davis, Vijay Desai, Anne Waggott |
Our thanks to;
Hampshire Museum Service - Southampton Heritage Services - Worsfords - Grace McGowan for her hard work on this production - Members of Maskers for loaning props and furniture.
Read the pre-show press in the two articles below:
click on a photo to enlarge it
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