PYGMALION Will Come to Stratford-upon-Avon This August

Rother Street Arts House, in association with Tread The Boards, will present Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, directed by Jonas Cemm.

Set in Edwardian London, the play follows Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower seller whose life is transformed by Professor Henry Higgins' linguistic experiment. As accents shift, so too do questions of class, identity, and self-determination. Staged in the round, this production places audiences at the heart of Shaw's classic social commentary, creating an intimate and immersive theatre experience.

Recently refurbished under the leadership of John-Robert Partridge and Catherine Prout, Rother Street Arts House offers a welcoming, community-focused setting. The venue features a four hundred seat theatre, studio spaces, a gallery for local artists, a café, and a bar. Partridge describes the venue as “a place where the community can gather, create, and enjoy live performance.”

Pygmalion is presented by Tread The Boards, Stratford-upon-Avon's premier fringe theatre company known for accessible, high-quality productions. Founded in 2008, the company has staged over 100 shows, supporting both established and emerging talent. At its helm is Artistic Director John-Robert Partridge, a Drama Lecturer at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire who has directed over 60 productions and maintains a reputation for dynamic, text-focused work. Partridge also continues to act, produce, and teach, and he revisits the role of Higgins for this production. “I've known Jonas for two decades and we've developed a shorthand that makes collaboration a joy.” He says, “Pygmalion is an endlessly fascinating play, and performing it in the round will make it feel especially alive.”

The production is presented in partnership with SHAW2020, an award-winning theatre company that blends Shaw's witty, thought-provoking texts with modern perspectives. Directing the piece, Jonas Cemm, Artistic Director of SHAW2020, draws on his extensive experience with Shaw's work. A former trustee of the Shaw Society (an 84-year-old organisation dedicated to exploring the works and legacy of George Bernard Shaw) Cemm has a long-standing engagement with Shaw's writing and a deep understanding of its humour, pace, and probing social questions. A 2026 Fringe Theatre Awards nominee for Best Director (Shaw vs Chekhov, his 25th Shavian production), he has previously directed Pygmalion with Partridge in the lead and, for this staging, is using his own edited version of the script.

“One of the greatest pleasures of Pygmalion is watching Eliza and Higgins ignite the stage. Their scenes are dynamic, full of tension, humour, and challenge,” said Cemm. “I'm thrilled to be working with John again; he is a wonderfully petulant, incorrigible but slightly dark Henry Higgins. Rother Street Arts House is the perfect venue, offering an intimate space where audiences are drawn into every moment of the story.”

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