Pygmalion, written by George Bernard Shaw, is a play about accents. It is the classic story (adapted into the famous musical My Fair Lady) in which the wealthy and overbearing Henry Higgins takes in the poor and rough-around-the-edges Eliza Doolittle to teach her to speak the Queen’s English. However, when the cast of a play that is centrally about proper pronunciation routinely butcher their own English accents worse than Kevin Costner, the production is difficult to take seriously.

Despite this overarching metaphysical kick-in-the-groin, the Woodsworth College League of Dramatists’ production also carried with it all the hallmarks of a play which was rushed to the stage well before it was ready to be performed. The use of cue cards in the opening monologue, issues with the blocking (how the actors move around the stage; this was particularly notable in a scene at Mrs. Higgins home), scene changes which lacked style, rhythm and confidence, and the unrealistic handing of supposedly full tea cups were all tell-tale markers of an undisciplined and under-rehearsed production.

One particularly unfortunate instance found central characters Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering at center stage awkwardly and noisily moving bottles and cups from the cramped drawing room table down onto the floor to make room for a checkers board. This fully detracted from and actually even upstaged a scene between Eliza and Higgins’ housekeeper Mrs. Pearce, which was taking place at the same time to stage right.

There were also problems with sound cues. Rain seemed to start and stop and then start again during a scene when it was supposed to be raining the whole time. If the sound effect is too much for the actors to speak over, it should be faded out, or simply played through at a lower volume-but to abruptly start and stop it is as much a distraction to the actors on stage as it is to the audience watching them.

Also, it wasn’t clear if the choice to make Henry Higgins (described in the script as a “confirmed bachelor”) obviously gay was intentional or not. Either way, Derek Genova’s flamboyant performance was like watching a grown Stewie from Family Guy host What Not To Wear (or Say) in London circa 1915. If it was indeed an intentional choice to make Higgins gay, it is regrettable since it offers a concrete reason as to why Higgins has no sexual interest in the reformed Eliza. This obscures an important and vital component of Higgins’ character-namely his stubborn inability to perceive the reformed Eliza as anything other than a product he has created.

Thankfully, there were two consistent and enjoyable performances in this troubled production. Albert Masters, who portrayed Colonel Pickering, delivered a steady and professional performance, never stumbling or losing grip of his accent. And although at times she seemed to be doing an impression of butler Geoffrey from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Angela Sinclair was reliable and enjoyable to watch as Mrs. Pearce.

Taken as a whole, this performance failed to do Shaw’s work the justice it deserves-though could have significantly improved with some extra rehearsal time. One line in the play delivered by Higgins actually serves to sum up the performance quite well: “Pickering, we have taken on a stiff job!”