ONE of the most stylish and best-loved musicals of all time, Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady, is the autumn choice for the award-winning Bath Light Operatic Group at the Theatre Royal, from Tuesday 10th to Saturday 14th September.

The classic stage production, which was also a famous film with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison, will be performed by a 32 strong cast from Bath, Bristol, Somerset and Wiltshire, accompanied by a live orchestra. It is based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play Pygmalion, and tells the heart-warming and humorous tale of Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who is transformed into an elegant lady by the linguistics expert Professor Henry Higgins.

The original 1956 Broadway production, starring Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison, won six Tony Awards including Best Musical, and set a record for the longest run for any musical on Broadway up to that time. With an unforgettable score by Frederick Loewe, and book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, My Fair Lady features a host of iconic songs including Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?, Get Me To The Church On Time, I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face, I Could Have Danced All Night and On The Street Where You Live.

Rob Dallimore plays Professor Henry Higgins and Tabitha Cox is Eliza Doolittle. Tabitha’s many previous roles include Maria in The Sound of Music, Belle in Beauty and the Beast, and Maria in West Side Story. She is reunited on stage with Rob after previously playing Nancy to his Fagin in Oliver! – a role which earned Rob a nomination for Best Actor at the Rose Bowl Awards. Rob’s many other roles have included Bernadette in Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, and Wilbur in Hairspray. Geoff White plays Alfred P Doolittle, following his recent award-winning portrayal of Mack Sennett in Mack & Mabel, for which he won the Rose Bowl Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

Director Claudia Pepler-White has more than 30 years’ experience as a director, performer, writer, teacher and producer of theatre. No stranger to local theatre, she specialises in working with community groups and young people, and has won many awards for her work over the years. Claudia is based at Frome’s Merlin Theatre, where she has worked since 2000 and been artistic dDirector for the past 14 years. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, she previously taught A Level and GCSE Drama. Claudia has also been artistic director at the Tri.art Theatre School since 2013.

Musical Director Matthew Finch has worked with Bath Light Operatic Group since 1997, first taking on the role as their Musical Director in 1999. He has worked most recently on BLOG’s productions of Oliver! in 2023, Mack & Mabel in 2022, Shrek The Musical in 2019, 42nd Street in 2018, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 2017, Annie in 2016, Sister Act in 2015 and Jesus Christ Superstar in 2014 – all at Bath’s Theatre Royal.

Choreographer Alison Price, who is the founder of Bath’s Little Dancers, returns to BLOG having previously choreographed the company’s 2015 production of Sister Act.

Bath Light Operatic Group was founded in 1948 and first performed at the Theatre Royal Bath in 1956 when they staged The Geisha. One of the most acclaimed amateur companies in the region with a rich history of producing high-quality musical theatre, the group has achieved much critical success. Recent accolades include winning Rose Bowl Awards for their 2022 production of Mack & Mabel and their 2017 production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, both at the Theatre Royal.

Pictured are Tabitha Cox as Eliza Doolittle and Rob Dallimore as Professor Henry Higgins. Photographs by Samuel Kelly