Garrick, London
One thinks of Pygmalion as about the metamorphosis of Eliza Doolittle. But in Philip Prowse's thought-provoking production, Kara Tointon reminds us that what matters ? and moves us ? is that Eliza does not, in the deepest sense, change. She may protest that Professor Higgins has stolen her independence, but she goes on to prove that her spirit is inviolably her own. Tointon, winner of 2010's Strictly Come Dancing, is perfectly in command of the part, especially physically. She starts off uncouth: legs apart, basket of violets between her knees, blowing dust from purple petals. But when launched on society she is as exquisitely upright as a white tulip, having apparently mastered elocution for the body. Rupert Everett is compelling, too, as a bracingly unusual Higgins (younger and nastier than most), a cross between Mr Rochester and a sulky mother's boy. Diana Rigg is tremendous as his mother; she seems to see and know everything, including the recognition that she is powerless to change her son. Alfred Doolittle (a dapper Michael Feast) knows the same thing about his daughter. And Peter Eyre's first-rate Colonel Pickering is a gentleman to relish (though not without his failings). It is a production that beautifully highlights one of Shaw's underlying observations ? that Eliza is not the only character in need of tuition.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/may/29/pygmalion-kara-tointon-garrick-review
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