My Fair Lady ★★★★★ The Mill at Sonning | Nov 20, 2025 - Jan 17, 2026


It is easy to misremember Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady as simply another musical romcom, but this superb production reminds us that it is rooted in George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. Along with the beguiling love story, there is a sharp and insightful commentary on class, gender, and the social forces that shape us. This is a transformation tale with something to say, and this first-rate staging gets the balance exactly right between fairy tale romance and pointed social critique. The beloved story of the Cockney flower girl who blossoms into a lady and the brilliant but blinkered academic, who finds he has a heart after all, is presented with uncommon clarity and warmth. It is not only the tale of Eliza’s metamorphosis, a working class woman discovering her independence, her identity, and her voice. It is also about the detached and self assured middle class academic Henry Higgins learning, sometimes painfully, what it means to truly listen. Simbi Akande is a radiant Eliza Doolittle, charting her character’s evolution with exquisite nuance, while Nadim Naaman’s Henry Higgins is pitch perfect: infuriating, witty, and ultimately vulnerable. Jo Servi brings a gentle humour and impeccable timing as Colonel Pickering, and Mark Moraghan’s Alfred P. Doolittle steals every scene he's in with gob-smacking gusto and charm. Under the direction of Joseph Pitcher, the production flows with precision and heart, and Pitcher and Alex Christian’s choreography splendidly delivers full-bodied production numbers that feel astonishingly grand on the relatively small stage. Diego Pitarch’s set design is clever and atmospheric, while Natalie Titchener’s costumes have nice touches of period elegance and character revealing detail. And of course, there is that brilliant and timeless score of Lerner and Loewe - lush, witty, romantic, and cleverly woven throughout the production. With the hearty meal before the show, this seasonal offering from The Mill at Sonning remains the perfect holiday indulgence.

Rated: ★★★★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Pamela Raith

When, Where, Getting there:
  • Nov 20, 2025 - Jan 17, 2026
  • Wed - Sat: 8:15 pm. Restaurant open: 6 pm - 7:15 pm
  • Sat & Sun: 2:15 pm. Restaurant open: 12 pm - 1:15 pm
  • Show only matinees (No Food) - Nov 27, Dec 4, Jan 2, 8 & 15
  • The Mill at Sonning
  • Nearest station: Reading
  • https://millatsonning.com/Events/my-fair-lady/
Map & Location: Sonning Eye, Reading RG4 6TY, UK

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