Oldham Coliseum Theatre is staging George Bernard Shaw’s classic provocative comedy Pygmalion.
First presented on stage in 1913, it has been adapted and performed in theatres across the globe ever since. In 1956, it became the inspiration for the musical My Fair Lady, which opened on Broadway starring Julie Andrews and was subsequently adapted for film in 1964 starring Audrey Hepburn.
The cast for the Coliseum’s production features James Simmons as Henry Higgins, and it will be directed by Chris Honer, former artistic director of the Library Theatre Company, Manchester. Coliseum Associate Director Chris Lawson, who joined the company in October 2015, will make his main stage debut supporting Chris Honer as associate director.
This most recent production from the Coliseum follows a theme of plays in which working-class characters are questioning the world around them and empowering themselves through graft and education: Educating Rita (October 2015), The Pitmen Painters (February 2016) and Our Gracie (March 2016).