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Pygmalion
Pygmalion
Oct 8, 2024 12:39 PM

Author:Bernard Shaw,Alistair McGowan,Al Murray,Morgana Robinson,Full Cast,Siân Phillips,Alistair McGowan

Pygmalion

A star-studded BBC radio production of Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion – plus bonus drama The ‘B’ Word, telling the story of the play’s scandalous opening night.

Irascible phonetics professor Henry Higgins makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering that he can train Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle to talk ‘like a lady’ and pass as a duchess at the Ambassador’s Ball. As the day of reckoning approaches, can Eliza convince the assembled aristocrats that she’s one of them? And what will become of her afterwards?

This effervescent radio version of Shaw’s classic comedy features a stellar cast, including award-winning comedians Alistair McGowan as Henry Higgins, Morgana Robinson as Eliza Doolittle and Al Murray as Alfred Doolittle.

Also featured on this release is The ‘B’ Word, written by and starring Alistair McGowan as Bernard Shaw. Centring on the shocking opening night of Pygmalion – the first time that the word ‘bloody' was used on the British stage – it also explores the passionate love-hate relationship between Shaw; his leading man, Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and his leading lady, Mrs Patrick Campbell, who played the 19-year-old Eliza Doolittle at the age of 49.

Cast and credits

Pygmalion

Henry Higgins……………………Alistair McGowan

Eliza Doolittle……………………Morgana Robinson

Alfred Doolittle……………………Al Murray

Colonel Pickering……………………Hugh Fraser

Mrs Higgins……………………Siân Phillips

Mrs Pearce/Maid……………………Charlotte Page

Mrs Eynsford-Hill……………………Georgie Glen

Clara Eynsford-Hill……………………Maeve Bluebell Wells

Freddy Eynsford-Hill.....……………………Tom Forrister

Nepommuck……………………David Sturzaker

Ambassador……………………John Dougall

Ambassador's wife……………………Sarah Ridgeway

Bystander……………………David Sterne

Written by Bernard Shaw

Produced and directed by Emma Harding

The ‘B’ Word

Bernard Shaw……………………Alistair McGowan

George Alexander……………………David Sturzaker

Mrs Patrick Campbell.....……………………Charlotte Page

Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree……………………Richard McCabe

Charlotte Shaw……………………Georgie Glen

Merivale……………………Philip Fox

Gurney/Fishman……………………Simon Ludders

Bell……………………Charlie Clements

Maid……………………Sarah Ridgeway

Written by Alistair McGowan

Produced and directed by Emma Harding

Reviews

Love me or hate me. It's a great read.

—— Billy Bragg

A welcome alternative to Scandi-noir

—— The Observer

Excellent critical writing ... Biskind's pastiche of right-wing paranoia is spot on

—— Irish Times

Biskind's wide-ranging arguments offer considerable food for thought

—— London Review of Books

The Sky is Falling! is not only insanely readable, it demonstrates how the way for Trump and all kinds of fundamentalists was paved years ago by apparently apolitical popular culture. This is a book about the seismic change at the very heart of today's society, and a book for all those who want to know exactly what a mess we're in.

—— Slavoj Žižek

Peter Biskind's kaleidoscopic deep dive into the symbiotic relationship between the narratives of popular entertainment and our political culture had me talking out loud to myself. You'll never look at your favorite movies and TV shows the same way again. And you shouldn't.

—— Steven Soderbergh

Funny, intelligent and frightening ... What happens when pop turns to pulp? When "nothing entertains but disaster?" When "democracy has all but dissolved in the acid rain of money?" Read this marvellous book and find the answers

—— Michael Wood

A breathless compendium of storylines and audacious analysis ... touching on worthwhile questions about how film and TV shape our sense of history and how the world works. Pop culture has become pulp culture... which superhero will come to our rescue?

—— Times

The only thing better than seeing a good movie is reading what Peter Biskind has to say about it. Who else can explicate the hidden politics of movies and make you laugh out loud at the same time?

—— Barbara Ehrenreich

The great chronicler of Hollywood in the late twentieth century turns his critical eye to the cinema and television of the twenty first. Essential reading

—— Colin MacCabe

A bold, witty, and brilliantly argued analysis of the role pop culture has played in the rise of American extremism

—— Ruth Reichl

Your book was . . . like a bag of pot, with me saying, 'I'm not gonna smoke.' But I was insatiable

—— Quentin Tarantino on EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS
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