''The First Night of Pygmalion'' is a play by
Richard Huggett, first performed in 1968. It depicts backstage events during the first British production of
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...
's play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion''.
It depicts the backstage tensions between Shaw, Mrs Patrick Campbell who played Eliza Doolitle, and Herbert Beerbohm Tree who played Professor Higgins, including the controversy surrounding the line "not bloody likely". It is mainly based on letters, diaries and newspaper reports from the time.
The play has twice been adapted for British television (in 1969 and 1975).
References
{{1970s-play-stub
1972 plays