My Fair Lady

The plot of My Fair Lady, as we all know, centers on Eliza and fortunately in Savoyards production Miranda Selwood was more than up to the task. Acting the role with conviction and singing the songs with charm, she was very likeable, feisty, and appealing. Her “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” “I Could Have Danced All Night,” and “Without You” all hit the mark.

Walter Lago as Higgins was hard to accept as a highly qualified phonetician of English when his Australian accent too often crept into his speech, but he delivered the patter songs with assurance and rarely missed a beat with the Shavian dialogue. Warryn James was a smashing Doolittle, making the most of his cockney knees-up numbers, “With a Little Bit of Luck,” and “Get Me To The Church On Time.”

Best of the rest was Colleen Firth who gave a generous warmth to her role as Mrs Higgins. Alec Raymond scored laughs as Colonel Pickering, as did Tracey Rowland as Mrs Pearce, but Tony Campbell made Freddy Eynsford Hill even more wimpy than he normally is and sang “On The Street Where You Live” with far too much pop inflection.

The black and white costumes in the Ascot Scene were a big plus in a production that needed, as Eliza would put it, to “move its bloomin’ arse” a lot more. It was way too slow.

Peter Pinne

Photographer: Christopher Thomas.

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