OBSERVER: Pygmalion
Mornington Peninsula Theatre Company presents a new interpretation of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, edited, designed and directed by Artistic Director Jonty Reason, from September 30 to October 4 at the Bellamy Hall Theatre, Albert St, Mornington.
While retaining its traditional Edwardian setting, this production infuses the classic text with distinctly modern sensibilities, shifting the focus entirely to Eliza Doolittle’s agency.
Eliza may start her journey as a mere pawn in an aristocratic wager, but she soon realises she is a resilient, forward-thinking woman and quickly learns to navigate the rigid class system with sharp intelligence and a ready wit.
In this version, Henry Higgins’s phonetic lessons are not a magical transformation, but tools that Eliza consciously exploits to secure her own social mobility.
Language becomes her chosen weapon, used deliberately to dismantle the patriarchal boundaries holding her back. It is said to be every bit as sharply funny as Shaw’s original, but brought up to date for a modern audience.
Eliza emerges not as a polished doll for society’s amusement, but as a fiercely independent woman who owns her future.
Mornington Peninsula Theatre Company transforms a century-old story into a ‘timeless triumph of female self-determination’.
Performance Season: September 30 – October 4
Venue: Bellamy Hall Theatre, Albert St., Mornington.
Bookings: trybooking.com/au/event/1611235
Cheryl Threadgold
Pictured: Teagan Jones (Eliza Doolittle) and Karen Reed
(Mrs Pearce) rehearse Pygmalion.