Opera North and Leeds Playhouse today announce a major revival of the award-winning musical My Fair Lady for spring 2024.
This strong ongoing partnership between the two Leeds cultural giants will see Leeds Playhouse’s Artistic Director James Brining direct a new production of this much-loved musical, adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s play and Gabriel Pascal’s motion picture Pygmalion.
Featuring Frederick Loewe’s ravishing score and wonderfully witty book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, the musical follows Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a “proper lady”. But who is really being transformed?
Conducted by Oliver Rundell, the production features members of the Chorus and Orchestra of Opera North performing the beautiful live score including the classic songs ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’, ‘Get Me To The Church On Time’ and ‘Wouldn’t It Be Loverly’. Casting will be announced in the new year and will draw from the breadth of performing artists in the multi-talented Chorus of Opera North in addition to guest actors.
The cast of A Little Night Music, an Opera North / Leeds Playhouse co-production ©Tristram Kenton (2022)
Recent musical theatre collaborations between Opera North and Leeds Playhouse include critically-acclaimed revivals of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods (2016) and A Little Night Music (2021/22).
James Brining, Artistic Director, Leeds Playhouse, comments:
“I am thrilled to be directing My Fair Lady and continuing our long-standing partnership with Opera North as we come together to create this iconic show. My Fair Lady is a show bursting with heart and energy featuring the most emotionally charged songs that always ignite powerful emotions, particularly when performed by the orchestra and the chorus of Opera North. This will be a production not to be missed.”
Laura Canning, General Director, Opera North, comments:
“My Fair Lady is an enduringly popular work of musical theatre and we are so excited to return to Leeds Playhouse next year to present this show, the latest in a hugely successful series of collaborations which bring together the forces of both Leeds Playhouse and Opera North. An incredible number of hit songs range from the comic ‘The Rain in Spain’ to the heart-felt romance of ‘On The Street Where You Live’, guaranteeing it will be an absolute joy to watch, with the ravishing sound of the Orchestra of Opera North playing Loewe’s magnificent Broadway score.”
My Fair Lady opens at the Quarry theatre, Leeds Playhouse on Friday 31 May 2024, with performances running until Saturday 29 June 2024. Priority booking is now open, with tickets going on general sale from 1pm on Wednesday 13 December.
