George Bernard Shaw’s
Pygmalion
Adapted by Rory Stuart
“The difference between a Lady and a flower girl isn’t how she behaves, but how she is treated”
Eliza Doolittle is a Cockney flower girl with big dreams.
Henry Higgins is a brash Professor of Speech with a big ego.
When a chance encounter sparks a daring bet, Eliza is catapulted from the rainy streets of Covent Garden to the top of Edwardian High Society. Can she pass for a Duchess or will the experiment expose more than just her accent?
HangFire Theatre return with a sparkling new adaptation of Bernard Shaw’s hilarious and heartfelt satire on identity and class which inspired the hit musical My Fair Lady.
Will you miss your chance to experience this classic rags to riches story?
“Not bloody likely!”
2026 Tour Dates
Cast
Jamie Brown
Hailing from Gateshead, Jamie trained at Bretton Hall (Acting, 3-years) and has worked in the performance industry since 2006.
Awarded Performing Artist of the Year at the North East Culture Awards - for his roles in Hadaway Harry (Newcastle Theatre Royal, London, NE tour) and The Man and The Donkey (Customs House) respectively - Jamie is a seasoned performer, having toured nationally in recent productions of The Importance of Being Earnest (Jack Worthing, HangFire Theatre) and Othello (Roderigo, Elysium Theatre). Regionally he has gained acclaim in premiere adaptations and subsequent revivals of Frankenstein (The Creature) and Dickens by Candlelight (Charles Dickens and Ghosts) with Niltoni Entertainment.
He is a long-term associate of 1623 theatre company, where roles include Hamlet (Hamlet), Claudio (Much Ado About Nothing) and Macbeth (Toil and Trouble), as well as at Theatre Space North East, where he has portrayed Tybalt (Romeo and Juliet) and Julius Caesar (Julius Caesar) among others.
Full info and credits can be found at www.jamie-brown.uk
Professor Henry Higgins
Charlotte Ryder
Recent film and television credits include VERA (ITV), The Dumping Ground (BBC), Lore (Couch Potato Films), Hypocrisy Of Democracy (Passionedia/DB Media) and has filmed sketches with North East Comedy Hot House for Channel 4.
Recent theatre credits include: Lizzy Spence in Geordie Gaol Girls, Nee Place Like Hyem (Workie Ticket Theatre Company), Cecily in The Importance Of Being Earnest (HangFire Theatre, National Tour), Geraldine in Ducks and Dragons (ARC Stockton), Robin in Remarkable Robin’s Christmas Adventure (Alnwick Playhouse), Meggie in Meggie Magicia (Alphabetti Theatre), Edwina in Orville (Out On The Toon with Northern Stage), Jill Ridley in The War Of The Worlds (Northern Stage) for which she was nominated for Best Performance in the Journal Culture Awards 2019), Roo in One More Sleep (Gala Durham), Heather in Middle:Below LIVE Show (Glasgow Horror Festival), Clare in ROAD, Katherine in The Taming Of The Shrew and Elizabeth in The Long Road (Newcastle Theatre Royal).
Eliza Doolittle
Adam is a Newcastle-based actor who trained at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
On stage, Adam has performed in productions at The National Theatre, Northern Stage, Live Theatre, The Customs House, Gala Durham, Alnwick Playhouse, Queen’s Hall Arts and The Laurels. He is also an Associate Artist at Bard in the Botanics, playing numerous roles for the company, including: Henry V, Leontes, Benedick, Malvolio, Dr Faustus and Sherlock Holmes.
On screen, he has worked for the BBC, ITV, and created a short film (The Offshore Account) which won the Ideastap BAFTA Film Showcase.
As a writer for stage, his work has been performed at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Old Red Lion, and Alphabetti Theatre.
He currently has new work in development through the Open Door programme at Newcastle Theatre Royal.
Colonel PickeringAdam Donaldson
Jacqueline Phillips
Jacqueline trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and has been an actor for over 30 years. Previously with HangFire Theatre she played Lady Bracknell and Miss Prism in their 2024 touring production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
Recent theatre includes: Geordie Gaol Girls [Workie Ticket Theatre]; Salt and Smoke [Novo Theatre]; Mrs Affleck’s Affliction [Lit & Phil, Newcastle]; Beyond Caring [Christina Castling]; Brassed Off [Gala Durham]; A Way Home [CaroleW Productions]; Tree, Sucking Eggs and Floorboards [Alphabetti Theatre]; Food and Feuds [November Club]; Networking [Live Theatre]; Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice and The Taming of the Shrew [Shakespeare’s Globe International Tour]; Butterfly, a one woman show and national tour [Little Cog and Stockton ARC].
Film includes: Verity’s Summer, The Gathering, Bridget Jones’ Diary, The Man Who Knew Too Little.
Television includes: Inspector George Gently, Vera, The Dumping Ground, Joe Maddison’s War, Emmerdale, Byker Grove, The Night Detective, Casualty, Picking up the Pieces, Sharman.
Radio includes: The Pitman Flappers [New Creatives Drama, BBC Sounds], Home Front and Fearless [BBC].
Mrs Pearce / Mrs Higgins
Jacob Anderton
Jacob is and award winning actor and producer. He was selected as a featured actor in the 2018 'Talent Corner' at the prestigious Cannes film festival.
His television work includes playing Isaac Hedley in ITV's Dark Angel alongside Golden Globe winning actress Joanne Froggatt. He also had a spell in Coronation Street. He played the lead in RTS winning programme A Very Uncommon Christmas and more recently appeared as Ben Flint in Emmerdale.
In film Jacob starred in 13 Graves, available on Sky and Amazon Prime, as well as appearing in I am Vengeance: Retaliation, which reached the top 10 on Netflix in 2020. Most recently he could be seen playing the romantic lead in 3 Wishes For Christmas for Channel 5.
He’s thrilled to be returning to work with HangFire after their smash tour with The Importance of Being Earnest in which he played Algernon.
Freddy Eynsford-Hill / Alfred Doolittle
