P ygmalion is Bernard Shaw’s most well known and popular play full of his trademark wit, humour and style. And the charm of the play was kept intact as the students and teachers of Lady Doak College performed the play. With a script so strong and performances as capable as those of Beatrice Anne D’Couto as Eliza Doolittle and Dew Lawrent as Professor Higgins, it was wholesome entertainment.
Eliza’s indignant squawks as she battled with Higgins as he tried to turn her into an elegant lady, drew laughter from the audience. Beatrice was an absolute treat as Eliza. From her comic expressions as she played the inelegant flower girl in the initial scenes to her more mature demeanour in the latter half of the play, she was convincing. Dew Lawrent as Prof Higgins was convincing. Be it the scenes where she bullied Eliza or those where she accused Eliza of ingratitude, Dew Lawrent brought the character alive.
Dew Lawrent was also the director of the play. She said, while it was a challenge to get so many teachers and students all to come together for rehearsals, etc., the experience was a happy one.
LDC has also staged Arms and the Man also by Shaw, The Importance of Being Earnest , and Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde, Agatha Christie's Three Blind Mice , The Monkey's Paw , Madame De , The Proposal besides Pygmalion .
“Staging an English play is difficult. The diction and accent assume great significance. The cast did a good job and the dialogues were clear and well delivered. Each one in the audience could follow them. Kudos to the director Dew Lawrent for a good job,” said A.D. Barnabas who had come to watch the play.
