PYGMALION (1913)
First performed in German, in Vienna, Pygmalion is possibly Shaw‘s most well-known play due to its reimagining in My Fair Lady. This softened and romanticized the text in a way Shaw would not possibly have approved of.
Some of his major concerns are addressed in the play – class, gender, poverty (which he saw as the greatest evil) and language. A major project throughout his life was the construction of a consistent phonetic English alphabet. He failed.
Shaw uses the ancient myth of Pygmalion – who created the „perfect woman“ – to explore the way in which women have so often (been) bowed to the social construct of what it is to be a women, from a male perspective.
We have never been so much in need of Shaw.
Director: Daniel Toyne
This is Daniel‘s fourth FEST production, following on from An Inspector Calls, Death of a Salesman and Pinteresque. He also appeared (as Gloucester) in ShakespeareFrankfurt’s Lear. Now retired in UK, he taught English Literature for four decades in Singapore and Germany, directing (and acting in) mainly school syllabus plays, primarily Shakespeare. He is delighted to be working again with Cornelia and others as well as a dynamic new generation of FEST cast and creatives.
Future projects include Neil Simon‘s Rumors, in UK.
Assistant Director: Cornelia Groeger
Cornelia Groeger is a German bilingual actress, director, producer and theatre pedagogue. Born and raised in Kuwait she rediscovered her passion when she moved to New York in 2013. Recent stage credits include Evelyn in Kindertransport (English Theatre Frankfurt), Ranyevskaya in FEST’s The Cherry Orchard, Flora in A Slight Ache (FEST), Kate in On Clover Road (Elmwood Playhouse, NY) Lisa in Adrift (NuBox, NY) and Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth in A Night at the Bard at The Players Club, NY. Cornelia was last seen in the award-winning short film To The Ones Left, as Margaret. She currently trains under Giles Foreman (GFCA, UK). Love and Thanks to all who support the performing arts world.
CAST (in Alphabetical Order)
Mrs. Pearce: Yasmin Caparó
Originally from Lima, Peru, Yasmin makes her FEST Frankfurt debut as Mrs. Pearce in Pygmalion, directed by Daniel Toyne. After moving to Frankfurt in 2024, she rekindled her love for acting, a passion she developed while studying Communication and Journalism, blending the art of storytelling with the craft of performance. With a career as an educator, academic manager, and voice-over artist, Yasmin brings a diverse range of creative experiences to the stage. As a seasoned traveler, her passion for language, people, and culture has deeply influenced her approach, whether in the classroom, or bringing characters to life behind the microphone. A lover of rock music, books, and photography, she approaches life with boundless curiosity. She is grateful to the wonderful cast for welcoming her into this production and to her lovely husband for his endless support—and for dutifully following all the rules set by the new housekeeper, Mrs. Pearce!
Constable: Thomas Dewitz
Thomas was born in Cologne and started acting as a teenager in various productions. He made his first journeys into English theatre with the group Trier English Drama when he was a student in the mid-2010s. Living and working in Frankfurt since 2023, he found the wonderful people from FEST who gave him a new home for his passion for acting and his love for the stage. Thomas has been involved with FEST mainly as a part of the backstage crew in Rabbit Hole and Gaslight and is looking forward to many more productions in the upcoming years.
Freddie: Hazem Elessawy
Hazem comes from the land of the pharaohs. He doesn’t take his camel to work, though, nor does he live in a pyramid. He discovered the world of theatre in his junior year at the American University in Cairo and has appeared in several plays since then. He was also a member of the “Khoyout” playback theatre group in Cairo for two years. He appeared on FEST’s stage multiple times: as God in Rich Orloff’s Can This Marriage Be Saved, Fred Narracott in Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, Happy Loman in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, the stationmaster in The Cherry Orchard, and Hal in Woody Allen’s Old Saybrook, which represented FEST at the 2024 Festival of European Anglophone Theatrical Societies in Antwerp. Hazem is a full-time cinephile, booklover and wannabe writer. And, in his free time, he “engineers” his way out of embarrassing situations.
Clara: Aleksandra Galaganova
Aleksandra joined FEST in 2024 and immediately dove deep into the backstage world. After supporting several plays as a make-up artist, Aleksandra joined the directors’ pool as Assistant Director for Old Saybrook. She was also Stage Manager and Props Master for Rabbit Hole, and as Assistant Director for Gas Light. Aleksandra has performing experience in high school and continues to have an incredible passion for theater.
Bystander/ Taxi Driver: Ornela Giolla
Ornela was born in Albania, raised in Greece, and has lived in Germany since 2015, working as a Visual Merchandiser. A lifelong theatre enthusiast, she has always dreamt of performing. Her love for theatre deepened when she attended her first FEST workshop, sparking a lasting connection to the craft. She has since appeared in Death of a Salesman (The Woman), The Cherry Orchard (Dunyasha), and Trifles (Mrs. Peters), while also contributing backstage as a costume coordinator and stagehand. She looks forward to embracing new creative challenges and sharing her passion for theatre with others.
Professor Higgins: Vaibhav Jain
Since 2022, Vaibhav’s been deeply connected to the FEST family, last seen on its Frankfurt stage in And Then There Were None and The Cherry Orchard. Excited to be a part of Pygmalion, he sees FEST as a vital part of the city’s artistic pulse – bringing forth the playfulness of live theatre – an antidote to our screen-centered existence.
A graduate of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Vaibhav debuted in New York with The Music in My Blood (2016), earning Best Ensemble Cast. With other notable performances in The Heidi Chronicles and Glengarry Glenross, he cherishes the different lives theatre allows him to live.
Constable: Xenia Kraft
Born in Russia’s Far East, Xenia once dreamed of becoming a clown—imagining a life filled with laughter, mischief, and colorful costumes. Tough the circus never called, her passion for performance only grew stronger. After joining acting classes, she landed her first role as Anya in The Cherry Orchard at FEST, and later played Nancy in Gas Light on the same stage. She is always excited to explore more characters and continue growing as an actress.
Maid: Hannah Kirkpatrick
Born in England with a Scottish-German heritage, Hannah grew up near Mainz and has lived in Frankfurt since 2021. Just shortly after moving there she found out about FEST as her plan to one day return to her love for performing had been long overdue since high school. Having been with FEST for about two years, Hannah is delighted to already having had the chance to perform in Death of a Salesman and was thrilled to later be part of Old Saybrook, which meant also experiencing FEATS in Antwerp in 2024. She is now excited to join the Pygmalion Crew and continue to flourish doing her favourite pastime: acting.
Alfred Doolittle: Phil Lewis
Phil studied at E15 Acting School and spent 11 years as a professional actor in Britain, Malta, France and Kenya – where in 1979 he played Freddie in Pygmalion – before arriving in Frankfurt in 1983 to work at The Café Theater, now The English Theatre. There in March 1984 he played Doolittle in Pygmalion. The FAZ called him a “talentierte Interpreten … wenngleich für die Rolle zu Jung.” 41 years later, and well into his seventies, he thinks he’s old enough to have another go. He is spending his dotage still trying to act, doing the odd voice-over, recently playing the city of London in a Hörspiel for HR2, and lying in the garden.
Sarcastic Bystander: David Mark
David joined FEST in 1982 and has played countless roles over the years – tragedy, comedy, drag, cabaret and more. He was Chairman of the FEATS festival in 2010 and 2017 and is happy to be in another production directed by Daniel Toyne. David is attracted to acting, because he loves telling other people’s stories.
Eliza Doolittle: Martha Reece
Martha grew up in Australia, performing with Young People’s Theatre, Newcastle before shifting her theatrical focus towards tech and directing. While studying in Canberra, Martha kept her passion for theatre stoked through her involvement with the National University Theatre Society, ANU Women’s Revue and various other groups.
She moved to Germany to undertake a PhD in physics, and recently embraced FEST to fulfil the theatrical needs of her soul, joining the last two productions on the backstage team. Martha is now cautiously excited to be returning to the stage in Pygmalion.
Mrs. Higgins: Sandra Regenbogen
Sandra started treading the boards with FEST at 28, staying true to her characteristic of “late bloomer with a vengeance”. Theatrical experience includes musicals (Camelot), Pantos, drama (Steel Magnolias, The Heiress, Broadway Bound, The Shadow Box, Spring Dance, The Two Character Play), comedies (Bouncers & Shakers, The Spelling of Coynes, The Farndale… Macbeth, The 39 Steps, Charley’s Aunt), staged readings as well as original scripts. She has worked with various groups in Frankfurt, Wiesbaden and Darmstadt, covering a bit of voice over/dubbing and filming (Table Games, esa films) along the way. 2023 marked a highlight with a part in schauspielfrankfurt’s Macbeth under Timofej Kuliabin. Sandra has last performed in An Inspector Calls and Pinteresque – An evening of Pinter plays for FEST and is proud to continue her collaboration with Daniel Toyne in this production.
Colonel Pickering: Aditya Singh
Aditya, a lively nerd from India who moved to Germany in 2015. He discovered his love for performing at age 10: his school and university years filled with diverse roles in comedy, a musical, and dance. After moving to Mainz in 2022, he focused on improvisational theatre, attending workshops in Karlsruhe and Amsterdam. In 2023, he volunteered at FEST, managing lights and sound. The following year, Aditya played Max, the blocked writer in Old Saybrook, which was also performed at FEATS in Antwerp 2024. As he continues his journey of self-discovery through acting, he eagerly looks forward to his second performance with FEST – Pygmalion.
Mrs. Eynsford-Hill: Alice Thomas
Alice is originally from the Rhine-Main region. She has always had a keen interest in theatre and drama, and started out early with school plays, reaching dramatic heights with the role of Dracula’s mother in the musical Dracula Spectacula at the age of 14, followed by a few more plays. During her studies, Alice played Honey in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, but after that, life and the desire to discover the world got in the way. After more than 15 years abroad, Alice returned to Germany in 2017 and has since rediscovered her love for theatre by supporting recent FEST productions backstage. In spring 2024, after a long hiatus, Alice was back on stage playing Sheila in FEST’s production of Woody Allen’s one act play Old Saybrook and is now very excited to be part of the wonderful cast of FEST’s new production of Pygmalion!
CREW
Producers: Gulmira Jumayeva and Julie Ng
Stage Manager: Pieter van der Ploeg
Stage Hands: Youjin Choi, Terry Fernbach, Ornela Giolla, Hannah Kirkpatrick, Julie Ng
Set Design/ Props: Isabel Bohlman
Set Design/ Props Asst: Youjin Choi
Light and Sound Tech: Anne Flaherty
Voice Coach: Judith Martin
Costume Managers: Julie Regenbogen (Eliza), Michelle Sellman and Fabienne Sellman (rest of Cast)
Hair: Cher Chislett and Ella Gogolin
Photos: Mic Gruber
Thank you to our sponsor:
