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Theme Of Pygmalion

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This play is one which has been adapted many times since its first performance in Vienna in 1913. From a musical version, to countless interpretations of the plot in movies and television shows, the story is one which is almost universally recognizable, if not necessarily in its original context. The aim of this production will be to stay true to the original play, while transferring it into a modern setting. This will highlight the many ways in which it is still thoroughly relevant to modern audiences, particularly in reference to the implicit points made about the treatment of women, and those who are on the lower levels of society.

While the play itself may seem somewhat dated, seeming to be rooted in social hierarchies which are obsolete, specifically in Ireland, the themes it deals with are as relevant today as they were when Shaw first wrote them in 1913. From the treatment of those who are vulnerable in a society, to the nature of identity itself, Pygmalion gives an excellent template to discuss and expand on these issues as they appear in our own …show more content…

Individuals are more than just the way they speak, act, interact or think, but rather an amalgamation of all of those together. In Pygmalion Higgins endeavours to transform Eliza into what he considers to be the diametric opposite to where she starts out, but he does so by simply attempting “to teach her how to speak properly” (Shaw, p.26). In doing this, “Higgins may change Eliza's linguistic and even physical selves (...), but Eliza herself changes her psychological and philosophical selves, largely through the auspices of her sociological self interacting with others such as Mrs. Higgins and Colonel Pickering” (Kennell, p.76). By showing the distinction between how Eliza’s selves are changed, the topic of identity can be explored in a unique way in a production of this

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