Eliza Doolittle – what does that name conjure up for you? For me it’s “All I want is a room somewhere…” and the story of a poor Cockney flower seller trying to go about her business, scraping together a living, before an upper-class fella decides he wants to study the way she speaks, obliging her to climb the social ladder for which she is ill-suited.
We are delighted that Cath Reid-Martin is taking the lead in the Jávea Players’ version of My Fair Lady. I asked about her theatrical background. “When did you first become involved with theatre?” “At school, playing Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls. I then joined Southport Arts Centre, playing parts in various musicals and plays.
I was gripped by the theatre bug and auditioned for drama schools and was offered a place at Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance to join their three-year actor musician course in London.” She graduated with a BA(hons) in Acting and spent several years working as an actress in London’s fringe theatre scene and around the UK.
Cath appeared as Peggy in Ying Yang Gooley, Above the Gatehouse Theatre London; Issy in Ivory Gull, Pleasance Theatre; Marta in Stephen Sondheim Musical Company at Greenwich Playhouse, London and Westcliff Palace Theatre; and Polly Peachum in Threepenny Opera. She toured the UK with Quantum Theatre, in Mr. Winchelever, playing Fatima and Mrs Block.
“As much as I loved working as an actress, I had to pay the bills so I moved into ‘proper job’! After a 14-year gap it’s fantastic to be acting again with Jávea Players!” [Cath moved to Spain three years ago and appeared as Hope in Silver Linings]. “Being in a musical is fabulous, as musical theatre is hands down my favourite genre.”
Fans of My Fair Lady have been fond of making an informal observance of Eliza Doolittle Day on 20th May. You don’t have to wait so long: Jávea Players’ production of My Fair Lady will be performed at the Capitol Theatre, Rojales, for one night on 13 April at 19.00. Tickets cost 12€. It’s easy to book and choose your seat on line. For more information see www.javeaplayers.com.
Gillian Ashworth/Jávea Players’ Press Officer
Photo Credit: Phil Mansell
