PYGMALION

pektakl w języku angielskim

*30 września 2010 r., godz. 9:30 i 12:30
*

PYGMALION

Eliza Doolittle, a penniless girl selling flowers in the street, wants to learn how speak English correctly so she can get a decent job. She meets Henry Higgins, a speech expert who makes a bet with his friend Pickering that he can pass her off as a Princess. Eliza is trained to talk and behave like a lady and when at the end of her intense studies, she is presented at a grand ball, she indeed passes for a Princess and Higgins wins his bet. But for Eliza, it is much more than just a bet. Her life has been changed forever. Now she is a princess, all she can do is get married.

The play is not only a wonderfully written comedy but also an attempt by George Bernard Shaw to expose the inequality of opportunity that women suffered in the last century. This will be the fifth touring production of Pygmalion. Previous productions have been performed very successfully in large scale venues throughout Europe, the Middle and Far East.

Pygmalion - Director's Notes - by Peter Joucla

I am delighted once again to have the chance of directing Bernard Shaw's impressive play PYGMALION. Each time I return to the text I discover new themes to explore in the production, and with each new cast, new ideas and staging possibilities come to light.

Written in 1912, the play was first performed in Vienna before being presented on the London stage on the 11th of April 1914. It caused a sensation then, not least for the unspeakable utterances of Eliza Doolittle, and has remained a classic ever since.

Alan Jay Learner adapted the play and turned it into MY FAIR LADY and whilst some may give him credit for improving the script in places, I feel that his decision to turn the story into a romance between Higgins and Eliza was unnecessary. Eliza's real victory is not that she leaves the gutter, but that she leaves Higgins.

Is the play anything more than a good tale, eloquently told by strong and endearing characters? Several years ago, we performed PYGMALION in Kuwait in the week that women were demonstrating in the streets, demanding the right to vote. Suddenly the central message about opportunity for women was potent again. (I understand that women now have the right to vote in Kuwait -- so perhaps theatre isn't dead after all.)

Revisiting the play once again, I am amazed at the issues and themes which still resonate with today's audience. Our newspapers are filled with stories of people who are transported from a world of poverty to one of riches and sophistication. I suspect that only those with the spirit and tenacity of Eliza Doolittle are likely to survive the transformation. Shaw gives us an added twist with the character of Eliza's father, who opens our eyes to another perspective, and in particular to misery of middle class morality. But what I enjoy most about this play is Shaw's ability to articulate some of the timeless fundamental issues which arise when a woman becomes emotionally involved with a man. As Higgins reflects..

'I suppose a woman wants to live her own life: and a man wants to live his: and each tries to drag the other on to the wrong track. One wants to go north and the other wants to go south: and the result is that they both have to go east, though they both hate the east wind.'

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