WOS Radio: Pygmalion Co Talk Plain at WOS Q&A

Just under 300 Whatsonstage.com theatregoers made their way to the Garrick Theatre last night (23 May) to see Pygmalion a revival which first came to stage at the Chichester Festival last year. Rupert Everett reprises his role as egocentric Henry Higgins while Kara Tointon, in her West End debut, takes on the role of feisty flower girl Eliza Doolittle.

Ahead of its time in its exploration of sexual politics and tackling the issue of class restrictions head on Pygmalion is the story of Professor of Phonetics, Henry Higgins who makes a bet with his friend, Colonel Pickering, that he can transform the manners and speech of Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle and pass her off as a society lady.

The last minute withdrawal, due to a virus, of Simon Ward from the production sees Michael Feast take on the role of Eliza’s father Alfred Doolittle and requires additional rehearsal hours for the cast. This didn’t however prevent many of them, including Everett and Tointon, from joining us following the production for a lively Q&A. The discussion encompassed not only this production but Chichester as well with Tointon talking openly about the challenges of the role, particularly the accents. We couldn’t avoid a little talk of Audrey Hepburn and gained new insight into George Bernard Shaw’s own vision of the future of Wimpole Street, a view that My Fair Lady fans might find surprising.

To listen to the full recording of the Q&A, click the ‘play’ button below; or to subscribe and download from iTunes, click here.

For more photos and commentary from last night’s event, visit our Outings blog and for further information and booking for upcoming Whatsonstage.com Outings, click here.