London SE1 : South Bank, Bankside, Borough, Elephant and Castle & Waterloo

Sir Peter Hall brings his acclaimed production of Bernard Shaw’s enduring classic Pygmalion to The Old Vic after its highly successful run at the Theatre Royal Bath.

Tim Pigott-Smith returns to The Old Vic stage for the first time since his memorable performance in The Iceman Cometh in 1998 and London audiences will al...so have the opportunity to discover a remarkable new talent in Michelle Dockery as Eliza Doolittle.

Henry Higgins (Tim Pigott-Smith) is the arrogant Professor of Phonetics who makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering that he can turn Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle (Michelle Dockery), into a duchess.

"fast moving, hugely funny and touching" Daily Express

"A marvellous play gets the production it deserves"Mail on Sunday

"The finest Shaw in years" Daily Telegraph

Pygmalion running time is 2hrs 30mins. Read more

Al Zaytouna, Britain’s leading dabke dance troupe, will be performing the first adaptation of Ghassan Kanafani’s “Ila Haifa” (Returning to Haifa), fusing music, traditional dabke, theatre and contemporary dance. The Director, Ahmed Masoud, explains “Dabke is an undiscovered form of art, not yet introduced properly to t...he West. It is found across the Arab world; in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. The Middle East is most commonly associated with belly dancing, and we want to show that this is not the only dance form we have to offer”.

Oud master & singer Nizar Al Issa and singer Mohammed Diab, in his first performance since the break up of Al 'Ashiqeen Group, use their formidable talents to join the dance and dialogue in this powerful story.

This unique performance was conceived and devised by Al Zaytouna to help a British audience understand the events of the Nakba – the 1948 Palestinian catastrophe. The story tells of a young couple forced to abandon their home and baby in Haifa and leave Palestine. Twenty years on, they receive a permit from the Israeli authorities to visit Haifa, where they are reunited with their child, and face a shocking surprise.

Ila Haifa explores the themes of identity and homeland; these issues which are real for many of the group members contribute to the passion with which they perform.Read more