Broken Legs Blog

Leicester Curve’s annual Christmas musical this year sees the revival of the classic “My Fair Lady”, written by Lerner and Loewe and based on the play “Pygmalion” by George Bernard Shaw (who in turn based his story on Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”). Set in the 1910s, the Curve’s production does a fantastic job of bringing London’s West End to life, with creative dance numbers and a show brimming with memorable characters.

The story begins with flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Molly Lynch), who gets into a bit of a scrap with phonetics professor Henry Higgins (David Seadon-Young). The opening song “Why Can’t The English?” is a speedy number which allows Seadon-Young a chance to show off his ability to gabble through lyrical tongue-twisters whilst also sharing comical interactions with the large supporting cast. Lynch’s interjections during this song are a little difficult to understand, her London accent a bit too thick at times, but this appears entirely intentional as Higgins accuses Doolittle of “cold-blooded murder of the English tongue”.

Goaded by his friend Hugh Pickering (the incredibly likeable Minal Patel), Higgins decides to teach Eliza to be a proper lady, promising to take her to the Embassy Ball in six months time. What follows is an enjoyable first act, as the friendship between Doolittle, Higgins and Pickering blossoms, and Doolittle’s demeanour begins to change, resulting in a punch-the-air moment with “The Rain in Spain”. This victory feels like a natural place to break off for the interval, but instead the act continues with further scenes at Ascot races, where Eliza meets potential love interest Freddy (Djavan van de Fliert), and these additional scenes make the first act feel overly long.

The show has multiple well-known songs, including “Wouldn’t it be loverly?”, “With a little bit of luck” and “Get me to the church on time”, the latter featuring Eliza’s father Alfred (Steve Furst) in a comical number as he laments his final day of bachelor life. Fairy lights bring the entire auditorium to life for this lively song, and choreography from Jo Goodwin sees the sizeable chorus dancing on the pub bar, and throwing pints across the stage.

The set, from Michael Taylor, is a marvel, continually changing, folding out like a story book to reveal the next scene. Cast iron arches reminiscent of Liverpool Street Station descend from the ceiling, Ascot race course is brought to life with help of a decorated trellis, and the details in Higgins’ study meant that the audience were crowding for a behind-the-scenes peek on their way out at the end of the show. The set even spills out into the auditorium, with doors and windows to the side of the stalls – although this did mean there were lots of entrances and exits through the audience, which could sometimes distract from the action on the stage.

Further joy can be found in Cathy Tyson’s portrayal of Henry’s severe mother Mrs Higgins, as well as Damian Buhagiar’s delightful Zoltan Karpathy, who leaps around the stage with what can only be described as childlike glee. Under the careful direction of Nikolai Foster, every scene and every character feels like they have been afforded the attention they deserve, with even minor characters leaving lasting impressions.

The second act sees Higgins and Eliza fall out, with Seadon-Young coming across as particularly unlikeable at moments. Unfortunately, he is never given a proper chance to redeem himself, and Eliza’s sudden return to him in the final song feels rushed and out of character. Seadon-Young tries his hardest to get the audience back on side with the song “I’ve grown accustomed to her face”, but it feels like too little, too late. Still, it is Christmas, so I guess there’s no better time of year to forgive and forget.

I don’t often mention the souvenir programmes in my reviews, but I feel that it deserves a special mention in this case. The detail given to the set and the costumes also carries over to the programme, which offers a great deal of additional context and history that makes for interesting reading. At a time of year when other theatres seem to resort to their run-of-the-mill pantomime escapades, it is wonderful to see a production such as this, which is clearly driven by passion, love and enjoyment for the theatre, rather than just another money-grabber.

The Curve Christmas productions rarely fail to disappoint, and “My Fair Lady” is no exception. This is a sublime production, very difficult to find fault with, and a superb treat to end the year.

Tom Morley, December 2024