Woke theatre bosses slap bizarre warning on classic play My Fair Lady
WOKE theatre bosses have slapped a trigger warning on the classic play which inspired the hit musical My Fair Lady.
George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion has cockney flower seller Eliza Doolittle being transformed into a society lady by Professor Henry Higgins.
But punters paying £75 for seats at The Old Vic theatre in London’s Waterloo have been alerted that the play contains “portrayals of abuse, abusive language and coercive control”.
Last night, former MP and TV favourite Ann Widdecombe said of the new trigger warning: “This is so daft it beggars belief.
“One wonders what the point of it all really is. As Eliza Doolittle might say, ‘Coercive control, duck? Not Pygmalion likely!’”
The play, written in 1912 and first performed the following year, stars Patsy Ferran and Bertie Carvel, who was Tony Blair in Netflix’s The Crown.
In the 1964 musical version, My Fair Lady, Rex Harrison played Higgins and Audrey Hepburn was Eliza.
The play is a satirical comedy about the English class system in a reworking of an ancient Greek tale of a sculptor who falls for his creation.
Prof Higgins, an expert on accents, accepts a bet from a pal that simply by changing the speech of a working-class flower seller he will be able to pass her off as a duchess within six months.
Eliza then endures tough training so she can mix in polite society.
Some critics have claimed that in the play she becomes strong and independent while the film hints she will happily stay with the bossy professor.
The Sun told previously about a backlash over the Old Vic’s move towards neutral toilets.
The theatre was approached for comment.