In the 20th century, Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion and the musical version My fair lady revitalized the myth of beauty modeling. Now, at the Teatro Versus Glòries, a small-format version of Tot assajant Pigmalió, starring Lloll Bertran, the florist from La Rambla, and Manel Barceló, the teacher, produced by Anexa, is being released. The actress already starred in the version of Dagoll Dagom in Poliorama in 1997.
The dramaturgy is signed by Marc Rosich, who directed it with Jordi Andújar. Rosich starts from the excellent Catalan version made by Joan Oliver and, including the monosyllabic poem by Pere Quart, pays double homage to the writer from Sabadell.
“In Tot assajant Pigmalió we see a couple preparing the play and playing all the roles,” explains the playwright. At its core, it is an exercise in nostalgia where two actors, with their backpack of experience, put My fair lady into motion. The result mixes Oliver's translation of My fair lady and Rosich's contributions. “And they sing some songs, with historical translations by Escamilla or Núria Feliu.”
The artistic team considers that the work is also a vindication of the richness of the Catalan language. “When Oliver translated it, they were dark times. Today they are again, but a path has been taken and there is resilience,” concludes the playwright.
Catalan version, here
