A NEW production of Bernard Shaw’s popular play, Pygmalion, takes to the Oxford stage next month with a stellar cast.

BAFTA award-winning Alistair McGowan, impressionist, comic and writer, is joined by Rula Lenska, Jamie Foreman and Rachel Barry when the production comes to the Oxford Playhouse from Tuesday, May 6, to Saturday, May 10.

Mr McGowan will play the pompous Professor Higgins, while Ms Lenska, who most recently appeared in Coronation Street, takes the role of Mrs Higgins. Television, film and stage actor Mr Foreman, who played Derek Branning in EastEnders and was Bill Sikes in Roman Polanski’s Oliver Twist, plays Alfred Doolittle, while Ms Barry is Eliza.

The play centres on a bet between Professor Higgins and his friend. Colonel Pickering. that he can transform the manners and speech of Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, and pass her off as a society lady.

Then follows the hilarious task of transforming Eliza – but it seems the one thing Higgins overlooked was that Eliza had a mind of her own. Pygmalion is one of Shaw’s most popular plays and was also the inspiration for successful 1964 movie My Fair Lady starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison.

Award-winning David Grindley directs this latest production. His most recent work includes Daytona with Maureen Lipman, which visited Oxford Playhouse to great success last year.

Alistair McGowan is well known for BBC1’s The Big Impression, which won several awards, including a BAFTA in 2003. In 2012, he hosted ITV1’s You Cannot Be Serious, a show which looked at the week’s sport, and is a regular presenter on BBC’s The One Show about British accents.

Jamie Foreman has an impressive career with more than 30 film credits to his name, including Layer Cake and Sleepy Hollow. While Rula Lenska has a string of theatre and TV credits to her name including Minder, Casualty, The Detectives, Footballers' Wives, To the Manor Born and One Foot in the Grave.

Tickets, from £14, are available from the ticket office on 01865 305305 or view oxfordplayhouse.com