Theatre review „Pygmalion“

Written by Theresa Frick, 5a Sprachengymnasium

On a rainy day in late February some classes of our school went to see the social comedy „Pygmalion“ in the Waltherhaus Bozen.

The theatre play was written by the Irish dramatist George Bernard Shaw, directed by Paul Stebbings and performed by the American Drama Group Europe.

Being inspired by the Greek mythology „Pygmalion“, the play itself is set in England at the beginning of the 20th century, where the poor young flower seller Eliza Doolittle starts getting lessons from Henry Higgins, a misogynistic professor, who wants to turn her into a duchess. He teaches her how to talk and behave properly and sees her as his own creation and project. In the end, since Eliza managed to become a well-behaved duchess, Higgins wants to marry her, but she refuses and decides to become a professor herself, contradicting the role of women in that society.

The costumes and props helped creating the atmosphere and setting of the different scenes and were very fitting. The actors included the audience by not only acting on stage, but also down between the rows, which was a surprising moment for everyone.

I personally found the play quite entertaining and liked the main themes of female empowerment with Eliza breaking the standards and being a confident woman in a misogynistic time.

I would recommend the play, but only to people who have read the story of „Pygmalion“ beforehand, since it would be quite hard to follow the plot otherwise.

BILDER Copyright American Drama Group Europe

American Drama Group Europe