My Fair Lady

You Did It! An excellent choice of show in “My Fair Lady” and a very well produced performance to celebrate fifty years of entertaining the Worthing and district audiences with a variety of productions over that time. I have been lucky enough to have seen many of them and I can even remember seeing the first production of “Glamourous Night” in 1973. Long may your society continue to do this service for the community.

The three characters in the central plot are of course, Eliza Doolittle, Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering. The parts were played by Katie Williams, Tim Kimber and Jonathan Stamp. These were impeccable performances and had energy, strength, humour and pathos throughout. Mrs Pearce (Sally McDonald) did a brilliant job of being referee between the difficult to please Higgins and the volatile Eliza. Freddy Eynsford-Hill (Adam Collins) was enacted perfectly and his singing was superb. Alfred Doolittle (Mark Roberts) played a good roguish father and we enjoyed his two up-beat songs. Mrs. Higgins (Lorraine Palmer) had  some lovely scenes during the story and played them very well. The six maid/ensemble really do need a special mention. The singing of the difficult four-part harmony of the “Poor Professor Higgins” choruses was extremely pleasing.

The orchestra of ten including the Musical Director (Nigel Newman) played the overture, entr’acte, underscoring and accompanied all the songs in a complementary manner befitting the action at the time. Ensemble singing is quite prevalent in most shows and My Fair Lady has rather less than most but the cockney and the Ascot numbers were most enjoyable. Nearly all of the scenery was impressive but the cloth for Wimpole Street upon which the houses, windows and pavements were so large seemed to dwarf the characters therein. All of the technical side was absolutely accurate - i.e. Higgins’ voice machine and all the lighting cues. The wardrobe department had made a proficient job of costumes in keeping with the period and the Ascot scene was a pleasing traditional black and white theme.

Congratulations to Director (Tony Bright), all on stage, backstage and production team for a memorable fiftieth year celebration show.   

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