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Review: PYGMALION at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre

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Pygmalion at QPAC

After a delayed season due to the Brisbane floods, The Queensland Theatre Company (QTC) proudly opened its doors to showcase ‘Pygmalion’ – the play that inspired the iconic musical film “My Fair Lady”. Audience members were taken on a journey to the home of ‘foul-mouthed guttersnipe’ Eliza Dolittle, set in the backstreets of London in the early 1900s.

Each scene in the play was introduced by a roving spotlight travelling along a map portraying the streets of London, and articulate actors who easily transported the audience from scene to scene.

The actress who assumed the character of Eliza Dolittle (Melanie Zanetti) had the audience in stitches with her overly expressive tantrums and neck-straining, perfectly executed “London back alley guttersnipe” accent – the early 1900s English counterpart of today’s “Bogan” accent.

As the show progressed, the audience was captivated and thoroughly entertained by her transformation into an English rose, flaunting her beauty in English couture. Who could forget that red satin gown, the perfectly coiffed hair and white satin gloves in her ‘Duchess’ debut? Eliza’s transformation was a treat for all female members of the audience as it humorously depicted female empowerment, purpose and identity flourishing in the throes of a patriarchal society.

Equally engaging were the actors who portrayed Professor Higgins (Robert Colby) and Colonel Pickering (Bryan Probets). The camaraderie shared between these two unlikely friends was reflective of light and shade, day and night – the “Odd Couple” of London’s High Society. The development of co-dependent and dysfunctional relationships between these three characters was nothing short of delightful and entertaining.

Overall the play was pleasing to the theatre-palate – charming, witty, colourful, enthralling and a total delight. We highly recommend seeing Pygmalion – after all, it was the play that inspired the making of “My Fair Lady”, and who didn’t enjoy that wonderful film?

WHAT?

Pygmalion

WHERE?

QPAC, Southbank, Brisbane

WHEN?

NOW, until 27th Nov 2011.

HOW MUCH?

$30-$75 from QPAC website

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Reflecting on the Past Year with Kids

I’m in deep denial about the fact that new year is almost upon us again! It’s been the fastest and the longest year at the same time, and I can look back and see some good things as well as some things I wish had gone differently.

Doing a year in review with your kids — whether in the classroom or at home — is a good way to capture some of their memories and the things they really liked about the year gone by.

There are a lot of different printable year in review worksheets you can use if you want to make this super easy. Here are links to a few (often part of larger posts about NYE celebrations with kids that are worth a read, too):

  • Teach Beside Me has lots of fun printables fro the end of the year, including a year in review that covers favorite memory, funniest memory and the best book they read, among other topics.
  • NurtureStore‘s version has space for a self-portrait and prompts like favorite toy, best day out this year and future dream job.
  • Remember favorites, their “best idea” of the year and have room for setting goals for next year with this one from The Keele Deal.
  • The year in review from Yes We Made This has room for drawing or writing and includes things like something they learned, a memory they made and a place they visited.

Of course you could pretty easily make your own year in review for the whole family to do that asks questions based on what you most want to remember. (Favorite video game? Best friend? Favorite family memory?)

And if after the year in review you’re ready to look ahead a bit, Mrs. Merry has new year’s resolution printables to inspired kids to look ahead and set goals for things they want to try. You can totally fill this one out as a grownup, too.

[Photo: Mrs. Merry]