This play is one which has been adapted many times since its first performance in Vienna in 1913. From a musical version, to countless interpretations of the plot in movies and television shows, the story is one which is almost universally recognizable, if not necessarily in its original context. The aim of this production will be to stay true to the original play, while transferring it into a modern setting. This will highlight the many ways in which it is still thoroughly relevant to modern audiences, particularly in reference to the implicit points made about the treatment of women, and those who are perceived as being on the lower levels of society.
While the play itself may seem somewhat dated, seeming to be rooted in social hierarchies …show more content…
In the original play, Eliza was a “flower girl”, …show more content…
It is true that Higgins does not create Eliza from ivory, as Pygmalion does in the myth, but he sculpts her personality and her presentation in a very deliberate way, giving a strong connection to the original tale. As well as making these changes, Shaw ensured that Higgins and Eliza did not marry in the end. He goes so far as to write a sequel in prose, asserting the fact that Eliza marries Freddy Eynsford-Hill, inferior to Higgins in both presence and intellect. This choice on Eliza’s part allows her to have a say in her future path in life, rather than being under the influence of Higgins for the rest of her life. As Crompton concludes in his essay, “The insistence that they end as lovebirds shows how popular sentiment will ignore any degree of compatibility between a man and woman once it has entertained the pleasant fancy of mating them” (p 83). This performance will aim to emphasise the harsh treatment Higgins put Eliza through, by showing some of the experiments and training methods he uses on her in his laboratory (See design portfolio, figs. 9, 13, 14,
While the play itself may seem somewhat dated, seeming to be rooted in social hierarchies …show more content…
In the original play, Eliza was a “flower girl”, …show more content…
It is true that Higgins does not create Eliza from ivory, as Pygmalion does in the myth, but he sculpts her personality and her presentation in a very deliberate way, giving a strong connection to the original tale. As well as making these changes, Shaw ensured that Higgins and Eliza did not marry in the end. He goes so far as to write a sequel in prose, asserting the fact that Eliza marries Freddy Eynsford-Hill, inferior to Higgins in both presence and intellect. This choice on Eliza’s part allows her to have a say in her future path in life, rather than being under the influence of Higgins for the rest of her life. As Crompton concludes in his essay, “The insistence that they end as lovebirds shows how popular sentiment will ignore any degree of compatibility between a man and woman once it has entertained the pleasant fancy of mating them” (p 83). This performance will aim to emphasise the harsh treatment Higgins put Eliza through, by showing some of the experiments and training methods he uses on her in his laboratory (See design portfolio, figs. 9, 13, 14,