Pygmalion Reviews

Jerome Davis from Raleigh, NC

EXCEPTIONAL

Remarkable production. Edge of your seat suspense coupled with many laugh out loud moments. Most physical Shaw I’ve ever seen. Ferran is a feral and rubber limbed Eliza. Carvel is everything he wasn’t as Trump (human), both magnetic and aloof, a neat trick. Four leads are all as good as might be hoped for. All this on the ugliest set since Resurrection Blues. Kudos to Jones for simply orchestrating this masterful take on a 110 year old play, making it feel as immediate as tomorrow.

SG from London, England

LOVED IT!

Modern and entertaining, great cast and loved the pace!

Jan from Tunbridge Wells, England

PYGMALION - TOUR DE FORCE

Having read the mixed reviews I went to see this play with an open mind. I was very pleasantly surprised and found myself chuckling throughout. The modern take on the story works well and all characters are extremely well cast. Loved it

Adrian from London, England

PATSY AND BERTIE ARE SIMPLY GLORIOUS TOGETHER.

I've new seen Pygmalion twice and will hopefully see it once more before it ends it run. Bertie Carvel and Patsy Ferran are simply astonishing in their roles, when they are on stage, I couldn't take my eyes off them (one eye for each actor) . I thought everyone played their roles superbly, and that the cast gelled really well together. Clare below is talking bollocks, it's a fantastic show, and well worth spending your evening or afternoon at The Old Vic. Funny and though-provoking. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Joanna from Yorkshire, England

GREAT POTENTIAL SOMEWHAT LOST

I had to agree with some of the above reviews re the frantic pace of this production, the confused period-setting, the rather strange set design and the lack of time for the characters to "develop". If you're expecting a stage rendition of "My Fair Lady" then this version may not be for you, (no singing in it for a start!) and the superfast transition of Eliza in this production sort of beggars belief. All of the actors are wonderful in their own right (many have demonstrated their versatility in TV dramas, film, other stage productions etc) but I felt they weren't pushed to their full potential or allowed to develop their characters to the max. The growing relationship between Higgins and Eliza could have been explored more than it was and which would have made this production much more interesting. Too much shouting at times, bit chaotic in parts and not every word said could be heard (marked contrast: the hilarious "The Crown Jewels" at the Garrick where every single word can be heard). Use of mics in future perhaps? Paid top dollar for the seats and expected that bit better to be honest.

Margie from London, England

TRULY AWFUL, ONLY SHAW'S WRITING PULLS IT THROUGH.

Quite the worst production of Pygmalion I've ever seen. Played as farce/pantomime. Two wonderful leading actors completely undermined by appalling direction. One of the main themes of the play is the development of Eliza from an uneducated flower girl to an articulate woman of poise and strength. That can only make sense if Eliza at the beginning is shown as someone with the intelligence and determination to improve her lot through education - the "resolutely ambitious young woman" as Shaw puts it in his epilogue - but it is unbelievable that the fool Patsy Ferran is directed to play at the opening would ever become the "tower of strength" at the end. Meanwhile Higgins is played as a pantomime villain and repeatedly sticks his tongue out in a really unsettling manner. The added "happy ending", as Shaw said, need not be shown but to satisfy those with "enfeebled" imaginations. Altogether far too much running around the stage. And the set is dreadful. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

DavidS from Toronto, Canada

YIKES!

"Pygmalion at The Old Vic"! Classic, right? The perfect tourist activity? What a disappointment. The leads definitely had their moments, and Eliza's dad was a standout, but what a mess. The book, direction, costumes and set were confusing! I was shocked that the play got applause.

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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