Pygmalion Reviews

AC from London, England

PYGMALION

Despite shouty efforts of cast & entertaining performance from Doolittle Snr, we were shocked by the cheap, tasteless & shoddy costumes & poor set. This production cast deserves better direction & audiences deserve quality production values than this poor show.

SR Hamilton from London, England

WOODEN

A lifeless, wooden production. The satire of English upper class folly and snobbery would have been more forceful with white actors and actors who spoke with better enunciation-in that cut glass upper class manner. The dirty clothes would not have been brought to the table by Mrs Pearce without causing revulsion. Higgins giggly schoolboy was deeply unattractive and horrible to watch. And what does this play say to us now? An odd choice of drama.

Clare London from London, England

A TRULY DREADFUL PRODUCTION OF PYGMALIAN AT THE OLD VIC

Shockingly AWFUL. One of those 'director's trendy concept' disasters. The pace of it was frenetic, each scene ran into the next, the actors were ALL SHOUTING there were no relationships, the actors were not given space by the director to deepen their characterisations. And this wonderfully funny play was anything but – with such self-conscious forcing of the lines I didn’t laugh once. It was so uncomfortable all the way through I felt for the actors. And that final glittering scene between Eliza and Higgins was embarrassing, stilted, awkward. Very poor direction. Blocking was chaotic and meanginless, the lighting so trendily dim you couldn’t see, the sound was tinny, couldn’t hear some of the actors at all, other times they were shrieking, the costumes were unspeakable, the set drab and pointless. Don't think this will 'settle'. It's hopelessly misconceived. I love the play, but was desperate for it to end. Worst thing I’ve seen on stage for decades.

Chris from London, England

BEAUTIFULLY WELL WRITTEN PLAY TURNED INTO AN UNFUNNY FRANTIC FARCE

No one is allowed to stand still for ,more than a moment, they must run across the stage or walk pointlessly in a circle -again and again. Whenever a sofa appears people stand on it for no reason! The leading man pauses at times for so long that you are convinced he must have forgotten his lines. There are doors everywhere, that are always being slammed. Seemed to be set in the 1940s, but could be 50 years either side as there were microphones, typewriters, haircuts of every style over the last 80 years, dress from the 1890's, another dress from the 1950s, women dressed as men with moustaches and brylcreem, keystone cop twirling his truncheon. Some cast members had nothing to do. Others played 4 or 5 roles. The set was stark with objects pushed out of one door, through another. There was a wooden taxi left over from the pantomime. The staging was really bizarre. All it needed was a vicar to come out of one door with his trousers around his ankles and it would all have made sense.

Hilary from Lake District UK

DREADFUL

My husband treated me to very expensive (£125 a head) tickets for this show. I love experimental drama and new approaches but this was dreadful. Watching the actress at the side of the stage waving and adjusting her outfit prior to the start should have told me all I needed to know about this bonkers production. Two things that stood out for me was the dreadful clowning of Eliza as the street seller wailing and Higgins sticking his tongue out like some demented Benny Hill character! The director should never be allowed this much control and authority to sqander talented performers At least It gave us lots to chat about as we made our way back up North...

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