Monday, October 3, 2011

Shaw's "Pygmalion": Text Vs. Mediated Performance

     After reading Shaw's play Pygmalion, I decided to view a mediated performance of the play. I thought that in by doing this, I would better understand the diverse set of characters roles in the text and more clearly make sense of their actions. Watching the mediated performance did indeed help in my understanding of particular characters, such as Higgins and Liza.
     The arrogance of Higgins' character is much more noticeable when viewing the way he talks to others. I also viewed Liza differently when watching the mediated performance, particularly in the scene where she is at Higgins' mothers house in a room full of the elite. Liza's awkwardness is much more noticeable in this scene, as well as others reactions to her. It is also in this scene and throughout the play that Shaw addresses the social issues regarding the different classes views of one another. In his work, Shaw stresses the differences between the social classes speech. It is not only the way that Liza's character pronounces words that causes her to be seen as an inhabitant of the “gutter,” but also her phrasing (415). For example, in the scene addressed above at Higgins' mothers party, Liza discusses how her aunt had been “done in” (438). The confusion among the guests by Liza's slang is much more obvious in the mediated version of the play than it is in the text.
     The differences among the social classes are not only displayed through their speech, but also through their appearance and overall lifestyles. This is particularly noticeable in the first scene of the mediated version of the play. As Liza stands on the street side by side with the wealthy Hill family, their differences seem to be endless. While Liza with her uncouth hair, wears tattered clothing underneath a worn out shall, the Hill family is dressed in attire for a night out, with Freddy in a tux and the women with jewels in their hair. There is also a noticeable difference between Liza's plain and unkept apartment and the elaborate homes of Higgins and his peers.

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