A Fabulous Fair Lady

The cast of My Fair Lady. Photo courtesy of Helen Ashbourne.

My Fair Lady, Leamington and Warwick Musical Society, Royal Spa Centre, Leamington Spa, from 24 - 28 March 2026. Director and Musical Director/Conductor James Suckling.

Review by Ann Cee

Lerner and Loewe’s ‘My Fair Lady’ throbbed with warmth, humour and very classy costumes and hats last night as the Leamington and Warwick Musical Society put on their annual show (this week only).

Great voices led us through the Pygmalion story with all the well-known hits from this ever- popular musical alongside a truly divine orchestra so hats off to James Suckling (Director and Musical Director/Conductor).  Big songs like ‘With a Little Bit of Luck’, ‘I Could Have Danced all Night’ and ‘Get me to the Church on Time’ were everything they needed to be, sweeping us up into the story with verve and wit.  I really loved the big chorus scenes with enchanting, slick movements coordinated by Jennifer Pratt (Choreographer) – the rowdy street scenes and the sophisticated Embassy Ball were equally charming and fun.

Matt Everitt (Alfred Doolittle) and his Cockney Fraternity. Photo courtesy of Helen Ashbourne.

The action begins with poor, low born Eliza Doolittle (Ella Kenrick) being plucked from the rough streets of Covent Gardens and into a whole new world of ‘high borns’ by the Professor, Henry Higgins (Ben Munday) based on a bet with his ever present new best friend, Colonel Hugh Pickering (David Walters).  There was never any expectation of a long term or affectionate bond developing between the pair, but it builds gradually until the balance of power is very firmly equalled between them in a very understated, stiff upper lip, kind of way – this is Edwardian England after all!

Cast of My Fair Lady. Photo courtesy of Helen Ashbourne.

Kenrick had a fine array of accents to draw on as well as a fabulous full voice and Munday had some great little dance moves that he carried off with panache.  Walters was superb as the caring friend of both protagonists and Kim Arnold as Mrs Pearce was a morally upright, housekeeper who wasn’t afraid to say her piece.

A tender and youthful infatuation with Eliza was delivered by Ricardo Alexander (Eynsford-Hill) who did self-indulgent, moping to perfection and with great voice.  Luca Catena (Zoltan Karpathy) pranced and schmoozed like any wonderful Hungarian pretender would – terrific!

All in all, this was a wonderful, colourful night of escapism delivered by a very wonderful local cast and crew.  I loved it.

Tickets available for 2026 March 2026 from https://lwms.org.uk/next-show/