Frome Drama Club are in rehearsal for their autumn production of Pygmalion, by George Bernard Shaw. Ahead of opening night on Thursday 22nd November, Frome Times spoke to the two leading actors, Philip and David.
Can you tell me about Pygmalion and what it is about?
David: It’s a satire about the British class system and a woman’s place in it. In ancient myth, Pygmalion was a sculptor who created a statue of a beautiful woman that he then fell in love with. Henry Higgins is a professor of phonetics who picks up a Cockney flower-seller and turns her into a duchess by teaching her how to speak properly.
Is it the same as My Fair Lady?
Philip: The main difference between the two is that we don’t have to sing or dance – thank goodness! My Fair Lady was the exceptionally popular 50s Broadway musical based on Shaw’s play, staged some years after the author died, and later made into the Oscar-laden film which starred Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. It supplied the happy ending which so many audiences apparently craved, but which was the antithesis of what GBS originally intended, and robbed the story of its bold support for feminism. We think he would have hated it!
What character do you play?
David: I play the professor of phonetics, Henry Higgins, an archetypal misogynist snob, who takes on his friend Colonel Pickering’s bet that he can’t turn Eliza into a lady in six months.
Philip: I play said Col Pickering, recently retired from a career in the Indian Army. He is drawn to Henry by their shared interest in phonetics, and becomes very fond of Eliza, whom he admires enormously. He is on stage almost as much as Higgins, but this is very much a supporting role, providing the occasional dash of good common sense when his new friend is at risk of getting carried away by an excess of male chauvinism.
How long have you been in Frome Drama Club, have you done any acting before?
David: I’ve been acting for Frome Drama Club on and off for 40 years. Lots of fun though.
Philip: My involvement with FDC as one of their regular directors goes back nearly 20 years, but before this, I used to act for the club occasionally. In fact I have fond memories of David and myself playing these same two roles back in 1997 in Mike Walker’s production at the Merlin. We were probably a bit young for them at the time!
How have rehearsals been going?
David: Pretty good I think. I hope that by the time we all know what we are doing we will have a pretty good show.
Philip: We have a really fine cast, and it is interesting to be directed by someone from outside the club – a new and very valuable experience for all of us.
What can people expect when they come to see Pygmalion?
David: Well, of course I hope they will be hugely amused and entertained. We’ve certainly had a lot of fun rehearsing it.
Philip: It is a terrific play and, judging by what I’ve seen so far, the acting is going to be exceptional. I think our audiences are going to be in for a treat!
Pygmalion is at The Merlin Theatre 22nd – 24th November. Tickets £10/8 from the box office 01373 465949.
Picture: Philip and David.
