Pygmalion

Classic plays are held in esteem for a reason, and it is always a pleasure to see a well performed classic play hit our local stages. Garrick’s production of George Bernard Shaw’s much-loved Pygmalion also features some brand-new talent, and it is great to see some new faces on stage.

Pygmalion is a five act play featuring three quite different settings, and clever design from director Fred Petersen allows this to happen on the pocket-sized Garrick stage. Although sets are simple rather than grandiose or opulent, they serve the show well. As a period-piece, costumes are important, and the women’s costumes in this production are excellent. Great work from Carly Ranger, Maggie Adam, and Janice Phillips. Costume fans would be happy to pay the price of admission to admire Eliza’s boots alone. Geoff Holt is responsible for both lights and sound, creating an impressive rainstorm in Act One.

Catherine Leeson makes a superb Australian and Community Theatre debut as Eliza Doolittle, in her first performance as an adult. An Irish doctor, recently arrived in Australia, we see no trace of Irish accent as we journey through Eliza’s journey from cockney flower girl to duchess quality English. A beautifully acted performance.

Peter Clark makes a welcome return to the stage, after a five-year hiatus, inhabiting the prickly, lacking in manners Henry Higgins with conviction, in a likeably unlikeable performance. Stuart Ridgeway is a worthy partner-in-crime as the more mannerly and gentlemanly Colonel Pickering.

Marsha Holt has a wonderful combination of authority and compassion as Mrs Higgins, although I felt more thought needed to be given to accent. In the other parental role, Adam Skelton was given a difficult task, being forced to play upstage for much of his first appearance as Alfred Doolittle – but he came into his own as reluctant member of the middle-class later in the show.

Jan Phillips plays Mrs Eynsford-Hill with quiet sophistication and considerable depth. Daughter Clara is played by Sorcha Leary, another young Irish doctor making an excellent Australian debut. James Skellham takes on the difficult role of Freddy – as is appropriately understated.

Allyson Corti returns to the stage after a nearly twenty-year absence, noticeably growing in confidence on opening night, as Mrs Pearce, while Juliette Hyland, yet another recent arrival from Ireland, in her first Australian appearance, is particularly impressive as the Parlour Maid, giving this young woman a distinct personality. Stage Manager Sarah Durack and director Fred Peterson also make brief stage appearances.

Great to see so much new and returning talent. Thanks, Garrick, for bringing this classic gem to the stage.

Kimberley Shaw