My Fair Lady is coming to the Leeds Playhouse

The casting and creative team have been announced

My Fair Lady will be a new collaboration between Leeds Playhouse and Opera North.

My Fair Lady is the classic story of Cockney flower-seller Eliza Doolittle who is taught to “talk more genteel” by Professor Henry Higgins to pass as a lady. But it’s not only Eliza who gets an education.

Funny, moving and vivid, My Fair Lady has been acclaimed as the perfect musical, full of unforgettable songs including ‘Wouldn’t it be Loverly?’, ‘With A Little Bit of Luck’, ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’ and ‘On The Street Where You Live’.

James Brining, Artistic Director of Leeds Playhouse and Director of My Fair Lady said: “I’m delighted with the talent we have brought together to re-tell this well-loved story.  With exceptional acting talent and incredibly accomplished singers as well as an exquisite orchestra featuring more than 30 players, our collaboration with Opera North should be a sumptuous feast for the senses.”

In this revival soprano Katie Bird will play the role of Eliza Doolittle and Poldark star John Hopkins will play Henry Higgins. The further principal cast performers come from the Chorus of the Opera North, with guest principals Mark Burghagen as Professor Zoltan Karpathy and Ahmed Hamad as Freddy Eynsford-Hill. 

A long-standing chorus member of the Opera North, Richard Mosley-Evans will take on the role of Eliza’s father, Alfred P Doolittle, and Molly Barker, a Chorus of Opera North member since 2022, portrays Mrs Eynsford-Hill. Miranda Bevin, seen previously at Leeds Playhouse in A Little Night Music, will take the role of Mrs Higgins, and Helen Évora will play Mrs Pearce. Dean Robinson will play Colonel Pickering.

James Brining will direct the show, with costume design by Madeleine Boyd, choreography by Lucy Hind, musical director/conductor Oliver Rundell, lighting designer Guy Hoare and sound designer Seb Frost. The dialect coach is Eleanor Manners, associate choreographer Llandyll Gove, Rosie Kat assistant director, with Daniel Hogan as assistant conductor and Annette Saunders as chief repetiteur. Casting is by Annelie Powell.

The production will run from 31 May to 29 June 2024.