My Fair Lady

This superb story about a confirmed bachelor who has a fascination with the cockney dialogue and finds the perfect candidate for ‘improvement’ in a flower seller outside Covent Garden, was originally written by George Bernard Shaw. Everything about this great production rang true to the mannerisms, behaviour and dress code of that era.  The imaginatively choreographed chorus numbers were all enthusiastically performed especially the energetic and outstanding opening number when the scene of London Town was brought to life with the chestnut burner and flower sellers. The sets and props were great as were the lighting and resounding sound effects. Credit must go not only to the cast but also to the backstage crew for their expertise. The orchestra was magnificent and the direction over all quite outstanding. My congratulations to everyone involved.

The part of Eliza was beautifully brought to life by Abi Pamment. She is one very talented lady with great acting ability, lovely vocals and a good dancer and mover.  How she maintained her cockney accent for the first half and just changed it on becoming ‘a lady’ was remarkable. I loved her version of ‘Wouldn’t it be Lovely’ and in total contrast ’Just You Wait’.

Two other surprise performances came from David Johnson as Colonel Pickering and Cameron Rowell as Freddie Eynsford-Hill. I have found Freddie rather a nondescript character in past performances I have seen but Cameron gave it a completely different twist. He was hilarious. I loved him. He made the most of every second on stage as well as singing delightfully.  Much the same could be said of David.  He brought the Colonel to life with outstanding acting and brilliant reactions to everything going on around him. He managed to put over the funny lines excellently and was a great foil for Andrew Donovan as Henry Higgins. Higgins is a very difficult part to play following Rex Harrison’s memorable performance but I was very impressed with Andrew’s portrayal of this cantankerous bachelor. His slow and inevitable change in character was cleverly built on as he finally realised Eliza was important in his life. In total contrast Kev Summers as Alfred P Doolittle was everything we expect of him, being bombastic and totally over the top. His two great musical numbers ‘With a Little Bit of Luck’ and ‘Get Me to the Church on Time’ were superb and so well supported by the chorus and a joy to watch. Tess Kennedy, Lynn Andrews and Jane O’Sullivan as the three other women, who cross Eliza’s path during her transformation, performed really well and the rest of the principals and chorus completed an excellent cast.

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