Loverly

Last night I went to see My Fair Lady at Sunderland Empire. Now, as iconic* musicals go, it’s up there with the best of them, and it’s always a bit of a challenge when you see something on stage that is so very familiar** - will it live up to expectations?

Well, it did, apart from the slight disappointment that Christopher Cazenove wasn’t playing Henry Higgins (he’s had a throat op, apparently), and the understudy, Steve Watts, whilst competent, lacking the charisma that Higgins must have in order for Eliza to come back to him.

The things that impressed me most, and this isn’t to denigrate the performances, were the staging, the musical numbers, the lighting, and quite simply the look of the piece. The scene changes were effected so smoothly that you almost didn’t notice them. One moment we were in the Embassy ballroom, and the next back in Higgins’s library, as everything slid into place. It created a sense of magic and wonder that fit with what is, essentially, a Cinderella story. It was directed by Trevor Nunn (a real hero of mine, when it comes to direction – we were once on the same train from York to Scarborough, and went to see the same show at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, but I was too shy to speak to him) so my expectations were high. I think it was successful because it alluded to the film rather than trying to be a carbon copy of it.

Apart from my comments above, I liked all the lead performances. Amy Nuttall was a new name to me, and I liked her performance – and her rather uncanny Audrey Hepburn impersonation once she had her ‘posh’ voice. I loved Stephen Moore as Pickering, who had just the right touch of crusty gent, with a touch of fun (it was rather strange to recall that I’d seen him in Trevor Nunn’s production of ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’ 25 years ago, a production that in many ways was like a sepia tinted version of this show***), Gareth Hale as Alfred Dolittle, and Stephen Carlile as Freddy, who was stunning in my very favourite song from the show, ‘On the Street Where You Live’

I have to admit I had a tear in my eye on Eliza’s ‘I washed my face and hands before I come, I did’ as I think it’s the perfect ending to the show. Anything more would be too much for the relationship that we’ve seen. For the record, I kept to my seat, I bought a programme, and resisted both the pricier ‘souvenir brochure’ and the original cast cd.

I love theatre!

*I’ve nicked Corinne’s word here, but nothing else fits
**Last year I experienced ‘speak-a-long-a-Oscar’ in a production of ‘Earnest’ at York Theatre Royal
***Trust me on this, as it’s too difficult to explain, other than Trevor called ‘All’s Well’, ‘Shakespeare’s most Chekovian play’