Original makeover show is a spirited success

PYGMALION, Royal Exchange Theatre

AS “The Philadelphia Story” is to the musical “High Society”, so is the relationship between this Bernard Shaw play and the musical “My Fair Lady”, which is based on it.

And in each case, there is a lot to be said for preferring the play: better dialogue, greater realism, less Bing Crosby in the former, less Rex Harrison in the latter...

The bet between Higgins and Pickering that the former can teach “guttersnipe” Eliza to speak and act like a lady has curious resonances today, where every other show offers a personal makeover of some kind.

Today’s makeovers promise better personal style: Shaw was more interested in the social ideal of class betterment taken to logical extremes, with the downtrodden gaining the tools for equality with the idle classes.

So Eliza’s feelings hardly enter the equation at all as Higgins and Pickering wager they can teach her to move in high London society. And once they have achieved their goal, they pretty much fail to consider what she will do next and where she will go.

The sting is that, armed with her new confidence, Eliza is ready to take on the world, while the two men return to what we assume will be their previous rather dull existence, mostly unchanged.

Shaw is even neutral on the subject of romance between Higgins and Eliza; we simply don’t know what will happen to them, and it doesn’t matter.

In a different year the play might have been another of Shaw’s interminable, and interminably long, social polemics. Instead it is funny and spirited — like the movie musical, but more down-to-earth, more real, with more deeply drawn characters — especially Eliza’s father Doolittle, the self-confessed “undeserving poor”.

You hardly notice Shaw’s political ideas most of the time, especially with the strong forces of this fine cast, marshalled by Exchange veteran Greg Hersov.

Simon Robson as Higgins is a marvellous mix of entertaining tics, grunts, mannerisms and insensitivity, while as Pickering, Terence Wilton gives us another enjoyable, humane old buffer.

Cush Jumbo as Eliza proves a terrific casting stroke, with masses of spirit and energy at first, turning to great self-possession as the evening moves on.

Among the supporting characters Gaye Brown and Sue Wallace are warm and funny respectively as Higgins’ housekeeper and mother respectively, and Ian Bartholomew is a terrific Doolittle, his character far more prominent in the play.