Joanna Riding made her debut as Eliza Dolittle at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane Dec. 10. Following Martine McCutcheon in the role was always going to be a high-profile event, but Riding, who had a great success in The Witches of Eastwick, received a rapturous reaction from a packed house.

Trevor Nunn's production of My Fair Lady began its life across the river at the National Theatre, transferring to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane earlier this year. The theatre is doubly appropriate as the home of My Fair Lady as not only is it the best in London for large scale musicals, it was also the original London home for the show back in the 1950s, where it earned the record for longest running musical at Drury Lane - until producer Cameron Mackintosh's Miss Saigon overtook it in the 1990s.

The current production of My Fair Lady has sailed through the stormy weather post-September 11, and looks likely to set some records of its own.

For tickets and further information call the Box Office on 020 7494 5064.

—by Paul Webb Theatrenow