As everyone knows, this is the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a “proper lady”. But who is really being transformed? With a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, the score includes the classic songs “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “Get Me to the Church on Time,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” “On the Street Where You Live,” “The Rain in Spain,” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.”
From start to finish it’s a bold, colourful spectacle, with a set that switches between Higgins’ book-lined study, the steps at the opera house, a lamp-lit street and Ascot racecourse. Costumes and dance routines are lavish, the tunes are everybody’s favourites and Vanessa Redgrave’s appearance as Higgins’ mother underlines the overwhelming sense of theatre history and nostalgia. It’s an impressive production.
