MY FAIR LADY Chichester Festival Theatre

FLOWERS, PHONETICS, PHABULOUS Always a joy to have them back: the phoneticist and the flower-girl, born to enthral one another and us. Cheers first for Keziah Ibe as Eliza, fresh out of Arts Ed on a first professional job. She eooowessand garrrrns at the start with confidently alarming shrillness, then suddenly – as the opera-crowd leave the stage to Covent garden workers round a brazier – sings “Wouldn’t it be loverly” at first merrily then downstage with a brief wistful sadness, then again cosily with the gang. Ibe from the first sinks deeply into character, face, voice, and body: defying Higgins with brave frightened brio then winning every heart in the house when suddenly the knack comes to her, and the sweetness of her voice breaks through with “I could have danced all night!”. And you believe, and foresee, that the infuriating educator who showed her this power is the only man for her. Hadley Fraser, playing Higgins to the OCD maximum, was to me an absolute joy: but then I am a…