The First Night of 'Pygmalion'

by Richard Huggett

70p cloth with white jacket, from a Cambridge college library, minor shelfwear to cover, library label and stamps to endpapers, very good condition

Genres: Plays

71 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Richard Huggett (born 25 April 1929, London, England, died 15 April 2000 in Surrey, England) was an English actor, author, and playwright.

He best-known plays are The First Night of Pygmalion (1968) and A Talent To Abuse (1981), both originally written and performed by Huggett himself as one-man shows. The First Night of Pygmalion was later adapted for television in 1969 and again in 1975. A Talent to Abuse, in which Huggett played writer Evelyn Waugh, met with criticism from Waugh's son, Auberon. Huggett was also noted for his 1989 biography of British theatre producer Binkie Beaumont.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Based on letters and newspaper accounts, I was hoping this would be more of a play. Instead, it's more of a presentational narrative. The author sometimes just quotes blocks of letters (and sometimes repeats himself) instead of dramatizing the scenes. Had he done so, this would have been more successful. This play was presented on TV twice - I hope it was more engaging.