Rupert Everett to Star in Shaw’s Pygmalion on the West End

Film favorite Rupert Everett will star as Professor Henry Higgins in the George Bernard Shaw classic Pygmalion on the London stage. He will be reprising the role, which he played in the Chichester Festival Theatre production, when the play transfers to the West End’s Garrick Theatre beginning performances on May 12 and opening on May 25. Phillip Prowse designs and directs.

Also reprising his role from the Chichester production will be Peter Eyre as Colonel Pickering. Strictly Come Dancing winner Kara Tointon is set to make her West End debut as Eliza Doolittle. Additional casting has yet to be announced.

Best known as the inspiration for the hit musical My Fair Lady, Pygmalion tells the story of Henry Higgins, a Professor of Phonetics who makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering that he can transform the manners and speech of Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle and pass her off as a lady in society.

Everett has been seen on Broadway in Another Country and Blithe Spirit, and his many films include The Next Best Thing, An Ideal Husband, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Dance With A Stranger and Another Country. Tointon is best known for her role on BBC hit show EastEnders, and Eyre was most recently seen on the Broadway stage in Hamlet, starring Jude Law.