Pygmalion is one of the most famous plays created by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. The play is named after a character of Greek mythology, which, according to the legend, fell in love with the statue he created with his own hands. The name symbolically reflects the plot and the main argument of the play with some difference.
The events described in the text take place in England at the beginning of the XX century. Henry Higgins, professor of phonetics, once meets a poor flower girl, Eliza, who sells flowers on the street. Her manners and speech are far from perfect, if not to say worse. Professionally amused Higgins bets with his friend, Colonel Pickering, that he is able to change this. While the story goes on, viewers evidence multiple attempts, both successful and not really, of turning Eliza into a real lady. It is impossible to predict the end of the story, and Shaw decides to leave a viewer, as well as a reader, with open final, wondering what really happens afterwards. The following events may seem predictable for some, but the writer leaves some place for imagination and individual choice.
The play is a romantic comedy, but it also includes elements of social criticism. The structure is climatic. The general action and all its components lead to the “big scene” – the most significant moment, when all themes and conflicts come to crossover points and “explode”. Though the scenes are chronological, the most tension accumulates at the end of the story, caused by the major argument and several minor conflicts.
The exposition is classical. It contains the great part of the story with detailed directions and guidelines. Of course, it is possible to present one’s own vision of familiar story, but classical exposition still works better here. Everything starts in “Covent Garden at 11.15 p.m. Torrents of heavy summer rain. Cab whistles blowing frantically in all directions. Pedestrians running for shelter into the market and under the portico of St. Paul’s Church, where there are already several people” (Shaw 7).
The inciting incident appears at the very beginning of the story: it is the meeting of two main characters. It becomes the basis for the first crisis – the meeting of more than just two ordinary people, but rather two completely different social strata and worldviews. This leads to the first minor crisis – Higgins’ attempts to teach Eliza how to speak and behave and difficulties she has to face. Several minor crises lead to a conflict between the representatives of these two worlds. Finally, Eliza becomes an educated person, but it doesn’t change things for better, though lets Higgins win the bet.
The setting includes several different variants. At first, a viewer meets characters on the street in the evening. The setting is minimalistic – just street lights attract attention. Later, heroes come to Higgins’ apartment, and the majority of events take place here (both in the evening and at daytime).
General design concept is to stick to the exposition given in the original text. The furniture, details, accessories and clothes should reflect the life of English society of the early XX century. Everything should be represented in a realistic manner, for it will be more appropriate to represent the conflict this way.
The stage is proscenium. As Pygmalion is a traditional play, and the setting is realistic, it is better to stick to more traditional solutions in every element. There is no need to use any special effects or additional equipment. The stage becomes “the fourth wall” of the theatre, and the audience participates in the play, as the conflict on the stage is the one that can be witnessed in a daily life. Scenery does not have to move a lot. Scene changes take place between the acts (there are two acts), and some elements can change, when the lights go down and appropriate music starts playing. It is possible to use minimum decorations and equipment, so it is not going to take too much time or efforts.
Costumes are not appropriate for the current period, as not only fashion has changed during the last century, but the core of social behavior did, too. Thus, there is a necessity to work on choosing proper costumes, which will look realistic in the corresponding period. However, there is no need to use wigs or special makeup. While Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering can wear the same clothes during the set, Eliza will use several dresses – each for every event and life period described in the play.
Speaking about lightning, it should be close to natural and realistic, with making objects completely visible at daytime and some play of the light at nighttime (the latter scenes are not numerous). The lightning is aimed to help to create a scene, taken from an ordinary life and create different moods – mostly understanding, compassion, and thrill. Light will also help to create the sense of time, as well as Eliza’s costumes and behavior, the latter one in the greatest extent.
Two main characters of the play are Professor Higgins and Eliza. At first, they seem completely different, and it is not likely they are going to find anything in common. Nevertheless, the situation turns out to be different in the end. Doctor Higgins is smart, a bit arrogant and selfish, and confident. He is reasonable, rational and precise – the person, who does not pay much attention to other people’s emotions. Eliza, on the contrary, seems very narrow-minded, emotional and easily impressed by everything, and she is very kind.
Shaw’s play is one of the greatest plays ever written. This is acknowledged both by literary critics and ordinary readers and viewers. There are a lot of features making it so appealing. For me personally, it is even more meaningful. On the one hand, it is a story about complicated human relationships and the possibility to overcome any difficulties and obstacles. It is a romantic comedy with dosed romance and moral. And on the other hand, Pygmalion means much more: it is the first play I’ve ever watched in the theatre and did not like at all. Now, it is complicated to say, what exactly I did not like. Maybe, it was too long for a kid. Or maybe it was too hard to believe that there is a play that great, the play, every detail in which will seem perfect the next time I watch it.
Works Cited
Shaw, George Bernard. Pygmalion. A Penn State Electronic Classics Series Publication, 2004, http://www.kkoworld.com/kitablar/Bernard_Shaw_Secilmis_eserler_eng.pdf.
