Not just an impressionist - Alistair’s Higgins returns in new production at Coventry’s Belgrade

Perhaps one of the most admired impressionists of our time, Alistair McGowan takes on the role of a man with whom he shares a fascination with the specifics of sounds in a play coming to the Belgrade in Coventry.
By The Newsroom
Published 10th May 2014, 08:00 BST
Alistair McGowan in Pygmalion.Alistair McGowan in Pygmalion.
Alistair McGowan in Pygmalion.

The BAFTA award-winning television personality is playing - for the second time - Henry Higgins in a new production of George Bernard Shaw’s best-known play, Pygmalion.

Directed by David Grindley, the play sees Professor of phonetics Higgins make a bet that he can transform the manners and speech of Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle and pass her off as a lady in society.

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Having taken on the role in 2011 when asked to take over from Rupert Everett in a West End run, Alistair is familiar with Higgins. He said: “I like him. We both share an interest in the specifics of the smallest sounds and we are both fascinated by what accent can say about who we are.

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“I think the key to Higgins is something my father instilled in me. The important thing in life is not having good manners or bad manners but having the same manners. You should treat everybody with the same consideration.”

The show runs from May 12 to 17. Tickets from 024 7655 3055 or www.belgrade.co.uk

Related topics:BelgradeCoventryProfessor