My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a cherished piece of musical theatre that has stood the test of time, so it was no shock that this production of the classic love story was a big hit amongst the audience on opening night.
Based on the George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion written in 1913, My Fair Lady is a prime example of a rags to riches tale. Directed by Nikolai Foster, this version of the sophisticated romantic comedy makes for an enjoyable, family friendly night at the theatre.
My Fair Lady has joined the acclaimed list of shows held at the Curve Theatre and is currently playing until Saturday 4th January 2025. The Curve is an ultra modern producing theatre in the heart of Leicester, previously home to shows such as Legally Blonde and Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard.
The storyline is fairly simple and easy to follow. It is set in Covent Garden during the early twentieth century and features Eliza, a working class cockney flower girl, struggling to make ends meet. She finds herself the subject of an experiment by professor Henry Higgins, to see if she can be educated with strict elocution lessons to ultimately be passed off as a Princess. Romance blossoms reluctantly between the unlikely pair and well, no spoilers here…you’ll have to see the show to find out the rest!
The initial view of the stage features a gaudy sparkly-silver sign dangling in the auditorium. The sign unfortunately undersells the sophistication that follows it, however the rest of the set is stylised and realistic. The large budget is displayed with a detailed array of era-appropriate props and embellishments, specifically inside the house of the Henry Higgins.
The actors often exit through side doors and bounding through the audience throughout the show could either be considered quite novel or unnecessarily distracting, depending which way you look at it.
Due to the plays naturally outdated nature, any fears about the sexist themes were quickly allayed and instead the piece delivered the old fashioned beliefs almost facetiously. Where we could have been flooded with eye-rolling mysogyny, the show continued with a lighthearted and tongue-in-cheek joviality, enabling us to laugh along comfortably.
The costumes were vibrant and delicately designed in line with the fashion of 1912, when the original piece was set. They clearly marked the divide between classes and captured the essence of an olden-day London.
It’s indubitable that the catchy and very witty soundtrack by Lerner and Loewe will have you tapping your toes along to the beat, paired with the cracking choreography by Joanna Goodwin.
The microphones were set marginally lower than the orchestra but the sound was generally clear and mixed well, the only exception being the song ‘I'm An Ordinary Man’ where Higgins was regrettably drowned out by the band.
When it comes to the acting throughout the piece there were wonderful waves of genuine emotion contrasting with some exaggerated moments too. A few line stutters, showing the opening night nerves, were bypassed by the clear, concise remainder of the well-executed lines.
Molly Lynch, who stars as Eliza shared her stunning voice and bright tone, only wavering slightly with her diction during act one. Her ‘cockney’ accent was more of a modern London stroke than the twentieth century style, however, her vocals won over the audience and she received great applause for her beautiful rendition of ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’.
David Seadon-Young who played Henry Higgins was the stand out of the evening with his embodiment of the obnoxious and ill-tempered grump. Seadon-Young’s essence of Higgins was captured perfectly in a role it seems he was born to play.
Admittedly, the relationship between the two leads was slightly lacking. As an audience we could feel more romantic tension between Higgins and Pickering - which left us wondering if that was an intentional move to try to modernise the dated themes?
Eliza’s father, Alfred P. Doolittle is being portrayed by the talented Steve Furst. Furst gave great characteristics, allowing his humorous and very likeable ways to capture attention with every scene he was in. Furst’s style is somewhat over the top, however it fits the character well and creates a welcome dynamic change to Eliza and Henry’s sharp intensity. Colonel Pickering (Minal Patel) also provided us with lots of humourous moments throughout and is a great addition to the piece.
Additionally, the talented ensemble really brought the production to life and received a roaring applause after Mr Doolittle’s song ‘With a Little Bit of Luck’. We were treated to their impressive vocal harmonies and engaging choreography, filling the stage with a vibrant energy which was fully celebrated by the crowd throughout the show.
Overall, this production was a joy to watch and to achieve a full 5 stars there would have to be an improvement in character believability and authenticity within the onstage relationships to build more audience investment.
There is no doubt that audiences from young to old will enjoy this show, let’s just hope a transfer is on the cards so more theatregoers can experience great classics of musical theatre like this one.
This show was reviewed on the 28th November 2024 at the Curve Theatre, Leicester where it runs until the 4th January 2025. Tickets available here: My Fair Lady - Curve Theatre, Leicester
Review written by Lauren Atkinson
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Photo credit: Marc Brenner
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