Worcester Repertory Company’s Pygmalion has received glowing feedback from audiences and reviewers since its opening night on Wednesday 14 October 2026. Directed by Suzi Budd, Pygmalion from Worcester Repertory Company is a ‘blossoming, blooming success!’

Pete Phillips from The View From The Stalls said, “Charlie Fraser-Swarbrick takes on the role of Eliza, transforming her from the strong-willed street selling waif to the elegant young lady who can be presented at a society ball, purely so that Professor Henry Higgins (Rob Holman) can win a bet with his friend, the dashing Colonel Pickering (George Ormerod).”

“The cast are excellent at portraying the characters and whilst at the start there is some appreciation of Higgins's intention to better the girl's prospects, by the end that has all but disappeared with Rob Holman showing him as a thoughtless, unpleasant and vindictive individual who simply doesn't understand other people's emotions. […] Whilst the play is now well over 100 years old, it still can resonate with a modern audience with male roles in society being continually questioned which makes this an enjoyable comedy with definitely a harder thought-provoking edge to it and is another success for the Rep.”

John Phillpott from Showtime! With John Phillpott said, “WHAT a night and what a star… and didn’t the Worcester Rep’s new director, Suzi Budd, guide the world’s best-known Cockney flower seller into being such a blossoming, blooming success!”

“The eternally irrepressible Eliza Doolittle in the company’s autumn production is played by Charlie Fraser-Swarbrick, now a Rep regular, and a sparkling performer who is rapidly gaining quite a reputation in this neck of the woods. She’s an actor who never fails to wow the crowds.”

“The company has been blessed by the arrival of new director Suzi Budd. And she’s taken George Bernard Shaw’s tale of upper-class mores and pretensions, given it a good old shake, and turned the effervescent Eliza into a force to be reckoned with.”

“It’s an absolute joy to watch Katherine Parker-Jones verbally dismantle her son's ivory tower, looking down her regal nose every time a turret crumbles. By jove sir, one doesn’t mess with her. […] This being director Budd’s first outing with the Rep can only bode well for the future. Pygmalion is well worth seeing without a doubt - and blissfully recommended.”

Graham Wyles from Stage Talk Magazine said, “In the Worcester Repertory Company’s semi-professional offering (i.e. pros and amateurs) the director, Suzi Budd, has allowed Shaw’s dialogue to speak for itself.”

“[Nothing] mars the vibrant performance of Charlie Fraser-Swarbrick as Eliza. As a creditable oik she nonetheless shines with the spark of a finer material than her dissolute father, Alfred (Chris Burrows) has credited her with. She gives a fine performance of the quandary her new sense of self-worth has put her in. In a similar vein Henry’s mum (Katherine Parker-Jones) is a model of compassion – and perfect diction.”

Following its three-day run of Pygmalion at the Swan Theatre, Worcester Repertory Company’s next production is its Robin Hood pantomime, running from Saturday 28 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. Support local theatre and book tickets via the Worcester Theatres website, at the Box Office at Huntingdon Hall, or by calling 01905 611 427