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A theatrical transformation
Jessica Schneider as Eliza, Matthew Bartlett as Professor Higgins
and Rock Salt as Col Pickering
Pygmalion
The Nonentities
The Rose Theatre, Kidderminster
*****
THE Nonentities seem to be on a quality
roll with this seasons productions, now bringing George Bernard Shaw’s
Pygmalion to life, with a superb attention to detail in both the
performances and staging.
For those that only
know the romanticised film adaption of
My Fair Lady, it will be something of a
surprise as to how Shaw’s vision of the transformation of a young
uneducated girl into a woman with a sense of strong feminine
independence stays true to the era of women gaining equal rights.
Henry Higgins is a phonetic professor and has a
bet with his friend Colonel Pickering to transform a cockney flower
seller Eliza Doolittle into a duchess by language training and general
deportment.
Higgins and Pickering are played by Matthew
Bartlett and Rock Salt respectively and both deliver their roles
flawlessly with genuine enthusiasm and care. Mr Bartlett was especially
convincing and built so much energy into his performance his words
seemed more conversation than script.
This was matched in the robust, polite, character
portrayed by Mr Salt and I could not help thinking, as the play
progressed, that this pairing worked so well together that they would
make a great Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson.
Jessica Schneider played the part of Eliza, the
flower girl transformed into a society jewel. She was excellent and
relished the diverse extremes of her character from the common cockney
lass into the well-bred, well-spoken lady. In keeping with Shaw’s
original she also keeps the right balance in requiring respect for her
gender right until the last word.
Another solid performance was Stanley Barten as
Eliza’s father who was called on to negotiate some difficult monologues
and raised some deserved laughter with his explanation of the working
class and his humorous take on his daughter and his life.
There were also good supporting performances from
Hilary Thompson as the housekeeper Mrs Pierce and Sandy Tudor as Mrs
Higgins
Special mention should go to the costume
department in the guise of Jen Eglington and Lynn Ravenhall as the cast
were fully resplendent in a display of gowns and period wear that
greatly added to the atmosphere of the performance.
The set too was well conceived featuring some
simple revolving stage scenery designed by another Mr Higgins, Keith
this time. The transformation of the scenes was made by the supporting
cast after each act and this was covered by some clever audio to keep
the action flowing.
Similar to Eliza’s transformation it takes more
than dressing and fakery to make a convincing theatre impression. From
the original barrel organ opening to the lavish costumes, set and
performances this production could sit on any stage in the country and
no one would believe it was amateur. To 16-05-15
Jeff Grant
11-05-15
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