On Tuesday the 27th of February 2024 four actors of the White Horse theatre company were at our school. They played the classic story “Pygmalion” for the students of our “Berufliches Gymnasium” in our gym. The play followed the transformation of Eliza, who was played by Rea Macduff, and her relationship with the linguist Mr. Higgins, played by Rahman Telliam. The other important characters in the play were Colonel Pickering played by Max Johan Ihrman and Mrs. Pearce and Mrs. Higgins both played by Mia Leonie.
The play “Pygmalion” by George Bernard Shaw is a comedy and uses humour to discuss the social norms during that time. The story also focuses a lot on linguistics and the differences in speech of the lower and the upper class.
Mr. Higgins, who is a linguist, meets a flower girl named Eliza Doolittle. Eliza is from the lower class and decides to take lessons by Mr. Higgins to improve her way of speaking and to have better job chances.
Mr. Higgins speaks satirically which often makes him seem careless, arrogant and haughty. The actor did a great job in showing those traits through his expressions and his way of speaking. Colonel Pickering and Mr. Higgins are both upper class but their behaviour is quite different. Pickering is a gentleman and treats Eliza like a lady even though she’s just a commoner. He seems like a kind and intelligent person which was shown very well by his actor. Eliza is self-confident and not afraid to speak her mind. Her emotional and witty personality was played authentically by her actress. The actress playing both Mrs. Higgins and Mrs. Pearce did a great job portraying the two characters.
The play itself was engaging and funny, but the last scene felt rather long and the end seemed open. It also taught us the different accents that occur in one country based on which part you are from.
This has been the second time my class saw a play by the White Horse theatre company and I liked both plays. I think it is a nice way of practising one’s English, the listening skills and the Q&A at the end is a nice way of learning how to communicate in English. Overall, I think our school should continue with this project.
Anika Vorstadt