George Bernard Shaw’s classic comedy Pygmalion comes to Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold

Oct 8 2009 Flintshire Chronicle

The story is now arguably more famous as the blockbuster musical My Fair Lady but Clwyd Theatr Cymru has gone back to the source material for a revival of George Bernard Shaw’s classic comedy Pygmalion.

Terry Hands directs Philip Bretherton as Henry Higgins, Hedydd Dylan as Eliza Doolittle, Robert Blythe as Colonel Pickering and John Cording as Alfred Doolittle in the centrepiece of the Mold theatre’s autumn season.

As an academic exercise Professor Henry Higgins, an expert in dialect and pronunciation, makes a bet that he can turn the cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle into a duchess within six months.

When the “squashed cabbage leaf” triumphs, Higgins discovers that he has created more than he had bargained for.

Shaw’s vision of the independent, determined woman, with its famous wit, is a commentary on both the battle between the sexes and the British class system, which is as vital today as when Pygmalion was first performed.

Pygmalion is George Bernard Shaw’s most popular comedy which has dazzled audiences for almost a century.

Shaw based the play on the legend of Pygmalion, a sculptor who creates his perfect female statue, so beautiful that he then falls in love with it. Following its premiere in 1914, the play was a stage hit which then became the basis for My Fair Lady.

Philip Bretherton plays Henry Higgins. Philip has been seen in many film, theatre and TV roles over the past 20 years, making him a well known face to audiences around the world. He starred as Alistair Deacon in the hit BBC sitcom As Time Goes By, alongside Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer, a role which developed over nine series and 15 years.

In Coronation Street, in 2004/5, he played car salesman Ian Davenport, embroiled in an affair with Sally Webster. On BBC TV, Philip played Andrew Bower, the husband of Nurse Duffy in Casualty.

Eliza Doolittle is played by Hedydd Dylan. Originally from Aberystwyth, Hedydd made her professional stage début earlier this year in Clwyd’s hit production of Noises Off.

Robert Blythe plays Colonel Pickering. He is a familiar face on TV from shows including six series of the BBC Wales TV comedy High Hopes, in which he plays Fagin. Recent stage work includes The Cherry Orchard and The Drawer Boy at Clwyd and the award-winning Deep Cut for Sherman Cymru.

John Cording plays Alfred Doolittle. John’s recent work at Clwyd Theatr Cymru includes The Cherry Orchard, Noises Off and Mary Stuart.

Pygmalion can be seen in the Anthony Hopkins Theatre from October 8-31. Ring the box office on 0845 330 3565 or visit www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk.