Review: PYGMALION, The Old Vic

A tale of transformation, coersive control and eventual female empowerment performed by two of our best stage actors should be a guaranteed hit. However, Richard Jones' revival of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion fails to pack the expected punch.

The story of the cockney flower girl trained to speak and act like a duchess by a phonetics professor has two central characters that give the actors a huge amount to get their teeth into. The issue is that this production has a sense of detachment so we never feel like we get to the real heart of the plot or characters. Shaw's observations about class and social expectations are pretty much lost.

Bertie Carvel channels more than a little Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins, although he brings his own elastic physicality to the role; shoulders hunched, with a sharp tongue flicking out when he becomes excited. He is cartoonishly petulant, loud, opinionated and incredibly rude. I suspect many will find his immersive performance a little too much, but his incessant cruelty also feels horribly convincing and very relevant today.

Patsy Ferran's Eliza demonstrates her great versatility. As the cockney flower girl, she bounces around the stage, not dropping quite enough of her aiches and screeching so much it is sometimes hard to make out her actual words. After a rather rapid series of lessons, she is funny and spirited at Mrs Higgins' afternoon tea, moving to being beautifully poised and controlled, but with a real vulnerability the Ambassador's party. We feel for her and believe in her fear and trepidation.

Michael Gould is a level-headed and affable Colonel Pickering, Penny Layden is a calming presence as Mrs Pearce and Sylvestra Le Touzel is wonderful as the acid-tongued Mrs Higgins, making Shaw's pithy one-liners feel as relevant today as ever.

There is a coldness in the production that comes from its look. Stewart Laing's set consists of mainly perforated plywood panels, making the whole production feel echoing and clinical. There is no real scenic detail or opulence to demonstrate the different socio-economic levels. With the exception of Mrs Higgins' abundant tea table, it feels stark.

Laing's costumes are a mixed bag, but there is a lovely nod to Ovid's original Pygmalion story in Eliza's Grecian robe and sandals for the big party and the almost matching outfits of Higgins and Eliza in the final scene reflect the burgeoning equality in their relationship.

The production's pacing is uneven; some scenes whip by and others, such as Higgins demonstrating vowel sounds, feel overlong. It's only by the final scene we can take a breath and get some real emotion from the central characters. It is also frustrating for many characters to speak with their backs to the audience; combined with the echoing set, it creates real audio issues.

On paper this show is a hit; in reality it feels like a missed opportunity to create something really special.

Pygmalion is at The Old Vic until 28 October

Photo Credit: Manuel Harlan