document_title: My Fair Lady

question_text: who played eliza doolittle in my fair lady on broadway

text: My Fair Lady

text: Plot[edit]

text: This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (January 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: On a rainy night in Edwardian London, opera patrons are waiting under the arches of Covent Garden for cabs. Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl, runs into a young man called Freddy.  She admonishes him for spilling her bunches of violets in the mud, but she cheers up after selling one to an older gentleman. She then flies into an angry outburst when a man copying down her speech is pointed out to her. The man explains that he studies phonetics and can identify anyone's origin by their accent. He laments Eliza's dreadful speech, asking why so many English people don't speak properly and explaining his theory that this is what truly separates social classes, rather than looks or money ("Why Can't the English?"). He declares that in six months he could turn Eliza into a lady by teaching her to speak properly. The older gentleman introduces himself as Colonel Pickering, a linguist who has studied Indian dialects. The phoneticist introduces himself as Henry Higgins, and, as they both have always wanted to meet each other, Higgins invites Pickering to stay at his home in London. He distractedly throws his change into Eliza's basket, and she and her friends wonder what it would be like to live a comfortable, proper life ("Wouldn't It Be Loverly?").

text: Eliza's father, Alfred P. Doolittle, and his drinking companions, Harry and Jamie, all dustmen, stop by the next morning.  He is searching for money for a drink, and Eliza shares her profits with him ("With a Little Bit of Luck"). Pickering and Higgins are discussing vowels at Higgins's home when Mrs. Pearce, the housekeeper, informs Higgins that a young woman with a ghastly accent has come to see him. It is Eliza, who has come to take speech lessons so she can get a job as an assistant in a florist's shop. Pickering wagers that Higgins cannot make good on his claim and volunteers to pay for Eliza's lessons.  An intensive makeover of Eliza's speech, manners and dress begins in preparation for her appearance at the Embassy Ball. Higgins sees himself as a kindhearted, patient man who cannot get along with women ("I'm an Ordinary Man"). To others he appears self-absorbed and misogynistic.

text: Alfred Doolittle is informed that his daughter has been taken in by Professor Higgins, and considers that he might be able to make a little money from the situation ("With a Little Bit of Luck" [Reprise]).

text: Doolittle arrives at Higgins's house the next morning, claiming that Higgins is compromising Eliza's virtue. Higgins is impressed by the man's natural gift for language and brazen lack of moral values. He and Doolittle agree that Eliza can continue to take lessons and live at Higgins's house if Higgins gives Doolittle five pounds for a spree.  Higgins flippantly recommends Doolittle to an American millionaire who has written to Higgins seeking a lecturer on moral values.  Meanwhile, Eliza endures speech tutoring, endlessly repeating phrases like "In Hertford, Hereford and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen” (initially, the only "h" she aspirates is in "hever") and "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain" (to practice the "long a" phoneme). Frustrated, she dreams of different ways to kill Higgins, from sickness to drowning to a firing squad ("Just You Wait"). The servants lament the hard "work" Higgins does ("The Servants' Chorus").  Just as they give up, Eliza suddenly recites "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain" in perfect upper-class style. Higgins, Eliza, and Pickering happily dance around Higgins's study ("The Rain in Spain"). Thereafter she speaks with impeccable Received Pronunciation. Mrs. Pearce, the housekeeper, insists that Eliza go to bed; she declares she is too excited to sleep ("I Could Have Danced All Night").

text: For her first public tryout, Higgins takes Eliza to his mother's box at Ascot Racecourse ("Ascot Gavotte"). Henry's mother reluctantly agrees to help Eliza make conversation, following Henry's advice that Eliza should stick to two subjects: the weather and everybody's health. Eliza makes a good impression at first with her polite manners but later shocks everyone when she forgets herself while watching a race and reverts to Cockney slang. She does, however, capture the heart of Freddy Eynsford-Hill, the young man she ran into in the opening scene.  Freddy calls on Eliza that evening, but she refuses to see him. He declares that he will wait for her as long as necessary in the street outside Higgins's house ("On the Street Where You Live").

text: Eliza's final test requires her to pass as a lady at the Embassy Ball, and after weeks of preparation, she is ready. All the ladies and gentlemen at the ball admire her, and the Queen of Transylvania invites her to dance with her son, the prince ("Embassy Waltz"). Eliza then dances with Higgins. A rival and former student of Higgins, a Hungarian phonetician named Zoltan Karpathy, is employed by the hostess to discover Eliza's origins through her speech. Though Pickering and his mother caution him not to, Higgins allows Karpathy to dance with Eliza.

text: The event is revealed to have been a success, with Zoltan Karpathy having concluded that Eliza is "not only Hungarian, but of royal blood. She is a princess!"  After the ball, Pickering flatters Higgins on his triumph, and Higgins expresses his pleasure that the experiment is now over ("You Did It"). The episode leaves Eliza feeling used and abandoned. Higgins completely ignores Eliza until he mislays his slippers.  He asks her where they are, and she lashes out at him, leaving the clueless professor mystified by her ingratitude. When Eliza decides to leave Higgins, he insults her in frustration and storms off. Eliza cries as she prepares to leave ("Just You Wait" [Reprise]). She finds Freddy still waiting outside ("On the Street Where You Live" [Reprise]).  He begins to tell her how much he loves her, but she cuts him off, telling him that she has heard enough words; if he really loves her, he should show it ("Show Me").  She and Freddy return to Covent Garden, where her friends do not recognize her with her newly refined bearing ("The Flower Market/Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" [Reprise]).  By chance, her father is there as well, dressed in a fine suit. He explains that he received a surprise bequest of four thousand pounds a year from the American millionaire, which has raised him to middle-class respectability, and now must marry Eliza's "stepmother", the woman he has been living with for many years.  Eliza sees that she no longer belongs in Covent Garden, and she and Freddy depart. Doolittle and his friends have one last spree before the wedding ("Get Me to the Church on Time").

text: Higgins awakens the next morning to find that, without Eliza, he has tea instead of coffee, and cannot find his own files. He wonders why she left after the triumph at the ball and concludes that men (especially himself) are far superior to women ("A Hymn to Him"). Pickering, becoming annoyed with Higgins, leaves to stay with his friend at the Home Office. Higgins seeks his mother's advice and finds Eliza having tea with her. Higgins's mother leaves Higgins and Eliza together. Eliza explains that Higgins has always treated her as a flower girl, but she learned to be a lady because Pickering treated her as one. Higgins claims he treated her the same way that Pickering did because both Higgins and Pickering treat all women alike. Eliza accuses him of wanting her only to fetch and carry for him, saying that she will marry Freddy because he loves her. She declares she no longer needs Higgins, saying she was foolish to think she did ("Without You").  Higgins is struck by Eliza's spirit and independence and wants her to stay with him, but she tells him that he will not see her again.

text: As Higgins walks home, he realizes he's grown attached to Eliza ("I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face"). He cannot bring himself to confess that he loves her, and insists to himself that if she marries Freddy and then comes back to him, he will not accept her. But he finds it difficult to imagine being alone again.  He reviews the recording he made of the morning Eliza first came to him for lessons. He hears his own harsh words: "She's so deliciously low! So horribly dirty!" Then the phonograph turns off, and a real voice speaks in a Cockney accent: "I washed me face an' 'ands before I come, I did". It is Eliza, standing in the doorway, tentatively returning to him.  The musical ends on an ambiguous moment of possible reconciliation between teacher and pupil, as Higgins slouches and asks, "Eliza, where the devil are my slippers?"

text: Characters and original Broadway cast[edit]

text: The original cast of the Broadway stage production:[2]

text:
Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flowerseller – Julie Andrews
Henry Higgins, a professor of phonetics – Rex Harrison
Alfred P. Doolittle, Eliza's father, a dustman – Stanley Holloway
Colonel Hugh Pickering, Henry Higgins's friend and fellow phoneticist – Robert Coote
Mrs. Higgins, Henry's socialite mother – Cathleen Nesbitt
Freddy Eynsford-Hill, a young socialite and Eliza's suitor – John Michael King
Mrs. Pearce, Higgins's housekeeper – Philippa Bevans
Zoltan Karpathy, Henry Higgins's former student and rival – Christopher Hewett

text: Musical numbers[edit]

text:
Act I[2]

"Overture" – The Orchestra
"Busker Sequence" – The Orchestra
"Why Can't the English?" – Professor Higgins
"Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" – Eliza and Male Quartet
"With a Little Bit of Luck" – Alfred Doolittle, Harry, Jamie and Company
"I'm an Ordinary Man" – Professor Higgins
"With a Little Bit of Luck (Reprise)" – Alfred Doolittle and Ensemble
"Just You Wait" – Eliza
"The Servants' Chorus (Poor Professor Higgins)" – Mrs. Pearce and Servants
"The Rain in Spain" – Professor Higgins, Eliza, and Colonel Pickering
"I Could Have Danced All Night" – Eliza, Mrs. Pearce, and Servants
"Ascot Gavotte" – Ensemble
"On the Street Where You Live" – Freddy
"Eliza's Entrance/Embassy Waltz" – The Orchestra

Act II

"You Did It" – Colonel Pickering, Professor Higgins, Mrs. Pearce, and Servants
"Just You Wait (Reprise)" – Eliza
"On the Street Where You Live (Reprise)" – Freddy
"Show Me" – Freddy, then Eliza
"The Flower Market/Wouldn't It Be Loverly? (Reprise)" – Eliza and Male Quartet
"Get Me to the Church on Time" – Alfred Doolittle and Ensemble
"A Hymn to Him" – Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering
"Without You" – Eliza and Professor Higgins
"I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" – Professor Higgins
"I Could Have Danced All Night (Reprise) / Finale" – The Orchestra

text: Background[edit]

text: In the mid-1930s, film producer Gabriel Pascal acquired the rights to produce film versions of several of George Bernard Shaw's plays, Pygmalion among them. However, Shaw, having had a bad experience with The Chocolate Soldier, a Viennese operetta based on his play Arms and the Man, refused permission for Pygmalion to be adapted into a musical. After Shaw died in 1950, Pascal asked lyricist Alan Jay Lerner to write the musical adaptation. Lerner agreed, and he and his partner Frederick Loewe began work.  They quickly realized, however, that the play violated several key rules for constructing a musical: the main story was not a love story, there was no subplot or secondary love story, and there was no place for an ensemble.[3]  Many people, including Oscar Hammerstein II, who, with Richard Rodgers, had also tried his hand at adapting Pygmalion into a musical and had given up, told Lerner that converting the play to a musical was impossible, so he and Loewe abandoned the project for two years.[4]

text: During this time, the collaborators separated and Gabriel Pascal died. Lerner had been trying to musicalize Li'l Abner when he read Pascal's obituary and found himself thinking about Pygmalion again.[5]  When he and Loewe reunited, everything fell into place. All the insurmountable obstacles that stood in their way two years earlier disappeared when the team realized that the play needed few changes apart from (according to Lerner) "adding the action that took place between the acts of the play".[6] They then excitedly began writing the show.  However, Chase Manhattan Bank was in charge of Pascal's estate, and the musical rights to Pygmalion were sought both by Lerner and Loewe and by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, whose executives called Lerner to discourage him from challenging the studio. Loewe said, "We will write the show without the rights, and when the time comes for them to decide who is to get them, we will be so far ahead of everyone else that they will be forced to give them to us."[7] For five months Lerner and Loewe wrote, hired technical designers, and made casting decisions. The bank, in the end, granted them the musical rights.

text: Lerner settled on the title My Fair Lady, relating both to one of Shaw's provisional titles for Pygmalion, Fair Eliza, and to the final line of every verse of the nursery rhyme "London Bridge Is Falling Down".  Recalling that the Gershwins' 1925 musical Tell Me More had been titled My Fair Lady in its out-of-town tryout, and also had a musical number under that title, Lerner made a courtesy call to Ira Gershwin, alerting him to the use of the title for the Lerner and Loewe musical.

text: Noël Coward was the first to be offered the role of Henry Higgins, but turned it down, suggesting the producers cast Rex Harrison instead.[8] After much deliberation, Harrison agreed to accept the part. Mary Martin was an early choice for the role of Eliza Doolittle, but declined the role.[9] Young actress Julie Andrews was "discovered" and cast as Eliza after the show's creative team went to see her Broadway debut in The Boy Friend. Moss Hart agreed to direct after hearing only two songs. The experienced orchestrators Robert Russell Bennett and Philip J. Lang were entrusted with the arrangements and the show quickly went into rehearsal.

text: The musical's script used several scenes that Shaw had written especially for the 1938 film version of Pygmalion, including the Embassy Ball sequence and the final scene of the 1938 film rather than the ending for Shaw's original play. The montage showing Eliza's lessons was also expanded, combining both Lerner and Shaw's dialogue. The artwork on the original playbill (and sleeve of the cast recording) is by Al Hirschfeld, who drew the playwright Shaw as a heavenly puppetmaster  pulling the strings on the Henry Higgins character, while Higgins in turn attempts to control Eliza Doolittle.

text: Productions[edit]

text: Original Broadway production[edit]

text: The musical had its pre-Broadway tryout at New Haven's Shubert Theatre. At the first preview Rex Harrison, who was unaccustomed to singing in front of a live orchestra, "announced that under no circumstances would he go on that night...with those thirty-two interlopers in the pit".[10]  He locked himself in his dressing room and came out little more than an hour before curtain time. The whole company had been dismissed but were recalled, and opening night was a success.[11] In 1973, on an episode of her Emmy Award-winning ABC-TV variety series, Julie Andrews recalled that during the New Haven tryout, one of the songs written for the show, "Say A Prayer For Me Tonight" was dropped and then used two years later for the 1958 MGM musical Gigi.  My Fair Lady then played for four weeks at the Erlanger Theatre in Philadelphia, beginning on February 15, 1956.

text: The musical premiered on Broadway March 15, 1956, at the Mark Hellinger Theatre in New York City. It transferred to the Broadhurst Theatre and then The Broadway Theatre, where it closed on September 29, 1962, after 2,717 performances, a record at the time. Moss Hart directed and Hanya Holm was choreographer. In addition to stars Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews and Stanley Holloway, the original cast included Robert Coote, Cathleen Nesbitt, John Michael King, and Reid Shelton.[12] Harrison was replaced by Edward Mulhare in November 1957 and Sally Ann Howes replaced Andrews in February 1958.[13][14] The Original Cast Recording went on to become the best-selling album in the country in 1956.[15]

text: Original London production[edit]

text: The West End production, in which Harrison, Andrews, Coote, and Holloway reprised their roles, opened on April 30, 1958, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, where it ran for five and a half years[16] (2,281 performances). Edwardian musical comedy star Zena Dare made her last appearance in the musical as Mrs. Higgins.[17] Leonard Weir played Freddy. Harrison left the London cast in March 1959, followed by Andrews in August 1959 and Holloway in October 1959.

text: 1970s revivals[edit]

text: The first revival opened at the St. James Theatre on Broadway on March 25, 1976, and ran there until December 5, 1976; it then transferred to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, running from December 9, 1976, until it closed on February 20, 1977, after a total of 377 performances and 7 previews. The director was Jerry Adler, with choreography by Crandall Diehl, based on the original choreography by Hanya Holm. Ian Richardson starred as Higgins, with Christine Andreas as Eliza, George Rose as Alfred P. Doolittle and Robert Coote recreating his role as Pickering.[12] Both Richardson and Rose were nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, with the award going to Rose.

text: A London revival opened at the Adelphi Theatre in October 1979, with Tony Britton as Higgins, Liz Robertson as Eliza, Dame Anna Neagle as Higgins' mother, Peter Bayliss, Richard Caldicot and Peter Land. The revival was produced by Cameron Mackintosh and directed by the author, Alan Jay Lerner. A national tour was directed by Robin Midgley.[18][19][20] Gillian Lynne choreographed.[21]  Britton and Robertson were both nominated for Olivier Awards.[22]

text: 1981 and 1993 Broadway revivals[edit]

text: Another Broadway revival of the original production opened at the Uris Theatre on August 18, 1981, and closed on November 29, 1981, after 120 performances and 4 previews.  Rex Harrison recreated his role as Higgins, with Jack Gwillim, Milo O'Shea, and Cathleen Nesbitt, at 93 years old reprising her role as Mrs. Higgins. The revival co-starred Nancy Ringham as Eliza. The director was Patrick Garland, with choreography by Crandall Diehl, recreating the original Hanya Holm dances.[12][23]

text: A new revival directed by Howard Davies opened at the Virginia Theatre on December 9, 1993, and closed on May 1, 1994, after 165 performances and 16 previews. The cast starred Richard Chamberlain, Melissa Errico and Paxton Whitehead. Julian Holloway, son of Stanley Holloway, recreated his father's role of Alfred P. Doolittle. Donald Saddler was the choreographer.[12][24]

text: 2001 London revival; 2003 Hollywood Bowl production[edit]

text: Cameron Mackintosh produced a new production on March 15, 2001, at the Royal National Theatre, which transferred to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on July 21. Directed by Trevor Nunn, with choreography by Matthew Bourne, the musical starred Martine McCutcheon as Eliza and Jonathan Pryce as Higgins, with Dennis Waterman as Alfred P. Doolittle. This revival won three Olivier Awards: Outstanding Musical Production, Best Actress in a Musical (Martine McCutcheon) and Best Theatre Choreographer (Matthew Bourne), with Anthony Ward receiving a nomination for Set Design.[25] In December 2001, Joanna Riding took over the role of Eliza, and in May 2002, Alex Jennings took over as Higgins, both winning Olivier Awards for Best Actor and Best Actress in a Musical respectively in 2003.[26] In March 2003, Anthony Andrews and Laura Michelle Kelly took over the roles until the show closed on August 30, 2003.[27]

text: A UK tour of this production began September 28, 2005. The production starred Amy Nuttall and Lisa O'Hare as Eliza, Christopher Cazenove as Henry Higgins, Russ Abbot and Gareth Hale as Alfred Doolittle, and Honor Blackman[28] and Hannah Gordon as Mrs. Higgins. The tour ended August 12, 2006.[29]

text: In 2003 a production of the musical at the Hollywood Bowl starred John Lithgow as Henry Higgins, Melissa Errico as Eliza Doolittle, Roger Daltrey as Alfred P. Doolittle and Paxton Whitehead as Colonel Pickering.[30]

text: 2018 Broadway revival[edit]

text: Lincoln Center Theater and Nederlander Presentations Inc. announced plans to mount a new Broadway revival in 2018. The revival began previews on March 15, 2018, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater and officially opened on April 19, 2018. It is directed by Bartlett Sher with choreography by Christopher Gattelli, scenic design by Michael Yeargan, costume design by Catherine Zuber and lighting design by Donald Holder.[31] The cast includes Lauren Ambrose as Eliza, Harry Hadden-Paton as Professor Henry Higgins, Diana Rigg as Mrs. Higgins, Norbert Leo Butz as Alfred P. Doolittle, Allan Corduner as Colonel Pickering, Jordan Donica as Freddy, and Linda Mugleston as Mrs. Pearce.[32][33]

text: Other major productions[edit]

text: Berlin, 1961[edit]

text: A German translation of My Fair Lady opened on October 1, 1961, at the Theater des Westens in Berlin, starring Karin Hübner and Paul Hubschmid (and conducted, as was the Broadway opening, by Franz Allers). Coming at the height of Cold War tensions, just weeks after the closing of the East Berlin–West Berlin border and the erection of the Berlin Wall, this was the first staging of a Broadway musical in Berlin since World War II. As such it was seen as a symbol of West Berlin's cultural renaissance and resistance. Lost attendance from East Berlin (now no longer possible) was partly made up by a "musical air bridge" of flights bringing in patrons from West Germany, and the production was embraced by Berliners, running for two years.[34][35]

text: 2007 New York Philharmonic concert and US tour[edit]

text: In 2007 the New York Philharmonic held a full-costume concert presentation of the musical. The concert had a four-day engagement lasting from March 7–10 at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. It starred Kelsey Grammer as Higgins, Kelli O'Hara as Eliza, Charles Kimbrough as Pickering, and Brian Dennehy as Alfred Doolittle. Marni Nixon played Mrs. Higgins; Nixon had provided the singing voice of Audrey Hepburn in the film version.[36]

text: A U.S. tour of Mackintosh's 2001 West End production ran from September 12, 2007, to June 22, 2008.[37] The production starred Christopher Cazenove as Higgins, Lisa O'Hare as Eliza, Walter Charles as Pickering, Tim Jerome as Alfred Doolittle[38] and Nixon as Mrs. Higgins, replacing Sally Ann Howes.[39]

text: 2008 Australian tour[edit]

text: An Australian tour produced by Opera Australia commenced in May 2008. The production starred Reg Livermore as Higgins, Taryn Fiebig as Eliza, Robert Grubb as Alfred Doolittle and Judi Connelli as Mrs Pearce. John Wood took the role of Alfred Doolittle in Queensland, and Richard E. Grant played the role of Henry Higgins at the Theatre Royal, Sydney.[40]

text: 2010 Paris revival[edit]

text: A new production was staged by Robert Carsen at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris for a limited 27-performance run, opening December 9, 2010, and closing January 2, 2011. It was presented in English. The costumes were designed by Anthony Powell and the choreography was by Lynne Page. The cast was as follows: Sarah Gabriel / Christine Arand (Eliza Doolittle), Alex Jennings (Henry Higgins), Margaret Tyzack (Mrs. Higgins), Nicholas Le Prevost (Colonel Pickering), Donald Maxwell (Alfred Doolittle), and Jenny Galloway (Mrs. Pearce).[41]

text: 2012 Sheffield production[edit]

text: A new production of My Fair Lady opened at Sheffield Crucible on December 13, 2012. Dominic West played Henry Higgins, and Carly Bawden played Eliza Doolittle. Sheffield Theatres' Artistic Director Daniel Evans was the director. The production ran until January 26, 2013.[42][43]

text: 2016 Australian production[edit]

text: The Gordon Frost Organisation, together with Opera Australia, presented a production at the Sydney Opera House from August 30 to November 5, 2016. It was directed by Dame Julie Andrews and featured the set and costume designs of the original 1956 production by Oliver Smith and Cecil Beaton.[44] The production sold more tickets than any other in the history of the Sydney Opera House.[45] The show is then planned to tour to Brisbane from March 12 and Melbourne from May 11. The show's opening run in Sydney was so successful that in November 2016, ticket pre-sales were released for a re-run in Sydney, with the extra shows scheduled between August 24 and September 10, 2017, at the Capitol Theatre.

text: The cast featured Alex Jennings as Henry Higgins (later Charles Edwards), Anna O'Byrne as Eliza Doolittle (later Elisa Colla), Reg Livermore as Alfred P. Doolittle, Robyn Nevin as Mrs. Higgins (later Pamela Rabe), Mark Vincent as Freddy Eynsford-Hill (later Joel Parnis), Tony Llewellyn-Jones as Colonel Pickering, Deidre Rubenstein as Mrs. Pearce, and David Whitney as Karpathy (later Glen Hogstrom).[46][47][48]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: According to Geoffrey Block, "Opening night critics immediately recognized that My Fair Lady fully measured up to the Rodgers and Hammerstein model of an integrated musical...Robert Coleman...wrote 'The Lerner-Loewe songs are not only delightful, they advance the action as well. They are ever so much more than interpolations, or interruptions.'"[49]  The musical opened to "unanimously glowing reviews, one of which said 'Don't bother reading this review now. You'd better sit right down and send for those tickets...' Critics praised the thoughtful use of Shaw's original play, the brilliance of the lyrics, and Loewe's well-integrated score."[50]

text: A sampling of praise from critics, excerpted from a book form of the musical, published in 1956.[51]

text:
"My Fair Lady is wise, witty, and winning. In short, a miraculous musical." Walter Kerr, New York Herald Tribune.
"A felicitous blend of intellect, wit, rhythm and high spirits. A masterpiece of musical comedy ... a terrific show." Robert Coleman, New York Daily Mirror.
"Fine, handsome, melodious, witty and beautifully acted ... an exceptional show." George Jean Nathan, New York Journal American.
"Everything about My Fair Lady is distinctive and distinguished." John Chapman, New York Daily News.
"Wonderfully entertaining and extraordinarily welcomed ... meritorious in every department." Wolcott Gibbs, The New Yorker.
"One of the 'loverliest' shows imaginable ... a work of theatre magic." John Beaufort, The Christian Science Monitor.
"An irresistible hit." Variety.
"One of the best musicals of the century." Brooks Atkinson, The New York Times.

text: The reception from Shavians was more mixed, however. Eric Bentley, for instance, called it "a terrible treatment of Mr. Shaw's play, [undermining] the basic idea [of the play]", even though he acknowledged it as "a delightful show".[52]

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text: Original Broadway production[edit]

text: Sources: BroadwayWorld[53] TheatreWorldAwards[54]

text:
Year

Award

Category

Nominee

Result

1956

Theatre World Award

Outstanding New York City Stage Debut Performance

John Michael King

Won

1957

Tony Award

Best Musical

Won

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

Rex Harrison

Won

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical

Julie Andrews

Nominated

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

Robert Coote

Nominated

Stanley Holloway

Nominated

Best Direction of a Musical

Moss Hart

Won

Best Choreography

Hanya Holm

Nominated

Best Scenic Design

Oliver Smith

Won

Best Costume Design

Cecil Beaton

Won

Best Conductor and Musical Director

Franz Allers

Won

text: 1976 Broadway revival[edit]

text: Sources: BroadwayWorld[55] Drama Desk[56]

text:
Year

Award

Category

Nominee

Result

1976

Tony Award

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

Ian Richardson

Nominated

George Rose

Won

Drama Desk Award

Outstanding Revival of a Musical

Nominated

Outstanding Actor in a Musical

Ian Richardson

Won

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical

George Rose

Won

Outstanding Director of a Musical

Jerry Adler

Nominated

text: 1979 London revival[edit]

text: Source: Olivier Awards[57]

text:
Year

Award

Category

Nominee

Result

1979

Laurence Olivier Award

Best Actor in a Musical

Tony Britton

Nominated

Best Actress in a Musical

Liz Robertson

Nominated

text: 1981 Broadway revival[edit]

text: Source: BroadwayWorld[58]

text:
Year

Award

Category

Nominee

Result

1982

Tony Award

Best Revival

Nominated

text: 1993 Broadway revival[edit]

text: Source: Drama Desk[59]

text:
Year

Award

Category

Nominee

Result

1993

Drama Desk Award

Outstanding Revival of a Musical

Nominated

Outstanding Actress in a Musical

Melissa Errico

Nominated

Outstanding Costume Design

Patricia Zipprodt

Nominated

text: 2001 London revival[edit]

text: Source: Olivier Awards[60]

text:
Year

Award

Category

Nominee

Result

2002

Laurence Olivier Award

Outstanding Musical Production

Won

Best Actor in a Musical

Jonathan Pryce

Nominated

Best Actress in a Musical

Martine McCutcheon

Won

Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical

Nicholas Le Prevost

Nominated

Best Theatre Choreographer

Matthew Bourne

Won

Best Set Design

Anthony Ward

Nominated

Best Costume Design

Nominated

Best Lighting Design

David Hersey

Nominated

2003

Best Actor in a Musical

Alex Jennings

Won

Best Actress in a Musical

Joanna Riding

Won

text: 2018 Broadway revival[edit]

text:
Year

Award

Category

Nominee

Result

2018

Drama League Award

Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical

Pending

Distinguished Performance Award*

Lauren Ambrose

Pending

Harry Hadden-Paton

Pending

Outer Critics Circle Award

Outstanding Revival of a Musical

Pending

Outstanding Actor in a Musical

Harry Hadden-Paton

Pending

Outstanding Actress in a Musical

Lauren Ambrose

Pending

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical

Norbert Leo Butz

Pending

Outstanding Director of a Musical

Bartlett Sher

Pending

Outstanding Choreography

Christopher Gattelli

Pending

Outstanding Set Design (Play or Musical)

Michael Yeargan

Pending

Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical)

Catherine Zuber

Pending

Outstanding Sound Design (Play or Musical)

Marc Salzberg

Pending

text: Norbert Leo Butz was ineligible for this award for his performance as Alfred Doolittle, as he had already won the award in a previous year. The Drama League gave Butz recognition for his work, stating, "[t]he Drama League also wishes to acknowledge the previous recipients of the Distinguished Performance Award who appeared in Broadway or Off-Broadway productions this season.  As the Award can only be won once in a performer’s lifetime, they are ineligible to be nominated; however, their exemplary work is recognized and applauded."

text: Adaptations[edit]

text: 1964 film[edit]

text: An Oscar-winning film version was made in 1964, directed by George Cukor and with Harrison again in the part of Higgins. The casting of Audrey Hepburn instead of Julie Andrews as Eliza was controversial, partly because theatregoers regarded Andrews as perfect for the part and partly because Hepburn's singing voice was dubbed (by Marni Nixon). Jack L. Warner, the head of Warner Bros., which produced the film, wanted "a star with a great deal of name recognition", but since Julie Andrews did not have any film experience, he thought a movie with her would not be as successful.[61] (Andrews went on to star in Mary Poppins that same year for which she won both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for Best Actress.) Lerner in particular disliked the film version of the musical, thinking it did not live up to the standards of Moss Hart's original direction. He was also unhappy with the casting of Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle and that the film was shot in its entirety at the Warner Bros. studio rather than, as he would have preferred, in London.[62] Despite the controversy, My Fair Lady was considered a major critical and box office success, ultimately going on to win eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture of the Year, Best Actor for Rex Harrison, and Best Director for George Cukor.

text: Unrealized film in 2000s[edit]

text: A new film adaptation was announced by Columbia Pictures in 2008,[63] but as of May 5, 2014, the project had been shelved.[64] The intention was to shoot on location in Covent Garden, Drury Lane, Tottenham Court Road, Wimpole Street and the Ascot Racecourse.[65] In December 2009, it was announced that John Madden had been signed to direct it and in 2011 it was reported that Colin Firth and Carey Mulligan were possible choices for the leading roles. Emma Thompson wrote a new screenplay adaptation for the project.[66]


document_title: M1 motorway

question_text: what was the speed limit on the m1 when it first opened

root

text: M1 motorway

text: History[edit]

text: There had been plans since before the Second World War for a motorway network in the United Kingdom. Lord Montagu formed a company to build a 'motorway like road' from London to Birmingham in 1923;[4] however it was a further 26 years before the Special Roads Act 1949 was passed which allowed for the construction of roads limited to specific vehicle classifications, and the 1950s when the country's first motorways were given the government go-ahead.

tag: p

text: The first section of motorway was the Preston Bypass in Lancashire, which opened in 1958 (now part of the M6 motorway).[3] The M1 was Britain's first full-length motorway and opened in 1959.[5] The early M1 had no speed limits, no central reservation or crash barriers, and no lighting.[6]

text: First section, 1959[edit]

text: The first section of the motorway opened between Junction 5 (Watford) and Junction 18 (Crick/Rugby) on 2 November 1959 together with the motorway's two spurs, the M10 (from Junction 7 to south of St Albans originally connecting to the A1) and the M45 (from Junction 17 to the A45 and Coventry). Parts of the Hertfordshire section were built using steam rollers.[7]

text: The M1 was officially inaugurated from Slip End (close to Luton), this was celebrated by a large concrete slab[8] on the bridge next to the village with inscription "London-Yorkshire Motorway – This slab was sealed by the Rt Hon Harold Watkinson M.P. – Minister of Transport – Inauguration Day – 24th March 1958". It was relocated, during widening works in 2007–08, to the eastern side of junction 10.

text: This section of the M1 broadly follows the route of the A5 north-west. It starts at the Watford Bypass (A41), which runs south-east to meet the A1 at Apex corner, and ended on the A5 at Crick. The M10 spur motorway connected the M1 to the North Orbital Road (A405/A414, a precursor of the M25) where it also met the A5 (now renumbered here as the A5183) and, 2 miles (3.2 km) to the east via the A414, the A6, which subsequently became part of the M25.

text: Although the whole of first section opened in 1959, it was built in two parts with the northern part (Junctions 10 to 18) being built by John Laing[2] and the southern part (the St Albans Bypass) being built by Tarmac Construction.[9]

text: Rugby to Leeds, 1965 to 1968[edit]

text: The continuation of the motorway from Junction 18 towards Yorkshire was carried out as a series of extensions between 1965 and 1968. Diverging from the A5, the motorway takes a more northerly route through the East Midlands, via Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham to Sheffield, where the M18 splits from the M1 at Junction 32 to head to Doncaster.

text: Originally, the M1 was planned to end at Doncaster but it was decided to make what was going to be the "Leeds and Sheffield Spur" the primary route with the 11-mile (18 km) section to the A1(M) south of Doncaster given the separate motorway number M18.

text: From Junction 32, the motorway passes Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and Wakefield, reaching the original end of the motorway at (the original) Junction 44 to the east of Leeds. There were plans to route the M1 from just south of Junction 42 where it interchanges with the M62, round the west of Leeds to the A1 at Dishforth; the chosen route passes to the east of Leeds. With the M62 and M621, the M1 forms a ring of motorways around the south of Leeds.

text: Leeds South Eastern Urban Motorway, 1972[edit]

text: In 1972 an extension of the M1 was opened into central Leeds as the Leeds South Eastern Motorway where it met the Leeds South Western Motorway (M621) coming north-east from the M62 at Junction 3.

text: Lighting[edit]

text: In July 1972 the then UK Minister for Transport Industries, John Peyton announced that 86 miles (138 km) of UK motorway particularly prone to fog would benefit from lighting in a project which "should be" completed by 1973.[10] Sections to be illuminated included the M1 between Junctions 3 and 14, and between Junctions 16 and 24.[10] In August 2011, the Highways Agency announced that despite being converted to Smart Motorway status, the lights will be switched off on stretches of the motorway between Junctions 10 (Luton) and 15 (Northampton) without affecting road user safety. The motorway junctions and their approaches, and a section of the M1 on either side of Junction 11 (north Luton), would have lighting columns replaced and remain lit. All lighting columns from Junctions 10 to 14 have now been removed completely, apart from some slip roads.[11]

text: Safety barriers[edit]

text: An increasing official interest in secondary safety was evident in an announcement in March 1973 that work would shortly begin on erecting "tensioned safety barriers" along the central reservation of a 34-mile (55 km) section of the M1 between Kegworth (J24) and Barlborough (J30).[12]

text: Leeds to Hook Moor, 1999[edit]

text: Between 1996 and 1999 the M1 section north of the M62 underwent a major reconstruction and extension to take the M1 on a new route to the A1(M) at Aberford. The new road involved the construction of a series of new junctions, bridges and viaducts to the east of Leeds. When the new section of M1 was completed and opened on 4 February 1999,[13] the Leeds South Eastern Motorway section of the M1 was redesignated as the M621 and the junctions were given new numbers (M621 Junctions 4 to 7).

text: London extensions, 1966, 1967 and 1977[edit]

text: The M1 was extended south from its original starting point at Junction 5 towards London in three stages. The first stage, opened in 1966, took the motorway south-east, parallel to the A41 to meet the A5 at junction 4 south of Elstree. The second phase continued east to Scratchwood (the London Gateway Service Area occupies the location of the missing junction 3 from where an unbuilt spur would have connected to the A1 at Stirling Corner to the north-east). The M1 then runs south alongside the Midland Main Line towards Hendon where it meets the A1 again at Junction 2 via a tightly curved flyover section. These flyovers connecting from the A1 were originally both for northbound traffic; the left one as the on-ramp to the M1, the right one going over the A1/A41 junction beneath to rejoin the A1 northbound.

text: Junction 2 is about 2.5 miles (4 km) south of the original Junction 3. Before the completion of Junction 2, southbound traffic left the motorway via a slip road which passed around the back of the now disused homebase and under the A41/A1 Mill Hill Bypass and looped round to join it at Fiveways Interchange. This slip road is still visible to southbound traffic approximately 650 yards (590 m) before Junction 2 and was maintained until the early 2000s though not accessible to traffic. The northbound slip road from the A1 is now partially used as the entrance way to a retail park and was once carried by bridge but no longer reaches the northbound carriageway as it is cut off by the motorway continuing south.

text: The final section of the M1 was opened to Junction 1 at Staples Corner in 1977. There the motorway meets the North Circular Road (A406) at a grade separated junction and roundabout. Unrealised plans made in the 1960s would have seen the motorway continue through the junction on an elevated roadway to end at West Hampstead where it would have met the North Cross Route, the northern section of the London Motorway Box, a proposed ring of urban motorway around the central area. The layout of the Staples Corner junction was originally built in accordance with these plans although most of the London Ringways Plan had been cancelled by 1973. Around the same time the section between the M10 and Junction 5 was widened from the original two lanes to three.

text: On its completion, the M1 acted as a fast link road between London and Birmingham. It also provided a link to London Luton Airport for these regions, and its proximity to the site of the Milton Keynes new town (designated in 1967) meant that it was soon providing a vital transport link to another major area.

text: Recent developments[edit]

text: In 2006 plans were published for the widening of 91 miles (146 km) from Leicester through to Leeds (Junctions 21–42) to dual 4-lanes.

text: Work began on 10-mile (16 km) section between the M25 and Luton (Junctions 6a and 10) in 2006 and opened in 2009 which included the construction of new parallel roads between Junctions 7 and 8 for local traffic together with the widening or replacement of eleven underbridges on one or both carriageways and replacing seven overbridges[14] at a cost of £294 million.[15] A variable speed limit system (MIDAS) was installed and the M10 spur was reclassified as part of the A414 road. Escalating costs across the whole of the Highways Agency programme, including the M1 project, where costs had risen to £5.1 billion, road protests[16][17] and criticisms by the Transport Select Committee and the National Audit Office led to wide-ranging re-assessments of the Agency's project costs.[18] Widening was scaled back to section from M25 to Luton (Junctions 6a to 10) that was already in progress and from Nottingham and Mansfield (Junctions 25–28). Hard-shoulder running being to be used for other sections.

text: Work to widen the 15-mile (24 km) section from Nottingham to Mansfield (J25-J28) to dual 4-lanes began in January 2008 and was completed in 2010 at a cost of £340 million.[19][20] Variable speed limit cameras, installed initially only for the period of construction, proved to be so effective that they were retained permanently.[21]

text: Work to introduce Hard shoulder running on approximately 15 miles (24 km) of motorway between Luton and Milton Keynes (J10-13) was completed in December 2012 at a total cost of £327 million.[22] Modifications were also made to Junctions 11 and 12[23] and the A421 road from Junction 13 to the Bedford southern bypass was upgraded to dual two-lane during this period[24]

text: Following a public inquiry in March 2013 the Secretary of State for Transport announced on 18 July 2013 that work to update the Catthorpe Interchange between the M1 motorway, M6 motorway and A14 road close to Catthorpe[25] would go ahead.[26] Work on the £191 million 3 layer interchange started in January 2014[27] and the scheme was fully opened to traffic in December 2016.[28]

text: Current developments[edit]

text: A5-M1 Link (Dunstable Northern Bypass)[edit]

text:
A5-M1 Link (Dunstable Northern Bypass)

The route of the Dunstable Northern Bypass proposal and route options for the connecting Luton Northern Bypass.

Location
Central Bedfordshire

Proposer
Highways Agency

Status
Under Construction (ETA summer 2017)

Type
Road

Cost estimate
£171 million to £217 million

Start date
2014–2015

Completion date
2016–2017

Geometry
KML

tag: table

text: The A5-M1 Link (Dunstable Northern Bypass) is to be a two-lane dual carriageway running east from the A5 north of Dunstable to join the M1 at a new Junction 11a south of Chalton.[29] Here, it is intended to join with a proposed Luton Northern Bypass to form a northern bypass for the wider conurbation. The A5-M1 Link aims to alleviate traffic congestion in Houghton Regis and Dunstable, reduce journey times for long-distance traffic travelling through Dunstable and improve the regional economy. The Highways Agency is expected to detrunk the A5 through Dunstable when the A5-M1 Link opens to the public in early 2017.[30] As part of the Dunstable Town Centre Masterplan, Central Bedfordshire Council is building the 2.9 km Woodside Link to connect the new junction 11a to the industrial areas of Dunstable and Houghton Regis. Most of the road will open to traffic in autumn 2016 with the remaining section connecting to junction 11a when it opens.[31]

text: Proposed developments[edit]

text: M1/M69 junction[edit]

text: There are plans to widen the M1 to dual 4-lane or dual 5-lane between Junctions 21 and 21a and construct a new link road between the M1 and the M69 including a new road bridge to take southbound M1 traffic over the motorway to connect to the M69. During this work the Leicester Forest East services would be closed.[32] Consultation took place in 2007 and a completion date of 2014 was suggested.[33] However the Highway Agency separately suggests that scheme development will "recommence" in 2014/15 with a provisional programmed start of works 2017/18.[34]

text: Other proposals[edit]

text: In addition to the above schemes, the Highways Agency also plans to add capacity and improve flows on the following sections of motorway in the longer term.[34]

text:
Location
Works
Start date

M1 J21a – J23a
Hard shoulder running
after 2020

M1 J23a – J24a
Various works including hard shoulder running
after 2015

M1 J24 – J25
Hard shoulder running
after 2015

text: Plans to dual the A421 from Junction 13 to Milton Keynes and to add capacity to Junction 10a on the Luton spur are being developed.[35][36]

text: Incidents and accidents[edit]

text:
In March 1972, 200 vehicles crashed in thick fog resulting in the deaths of nine people on the M1 north of Luton.[37]
On 8 January 1989, a Boeing 737 crashed onto the embankment of the M1 whilst attempting an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire. There were no ground casualties nor vehicular damage on the motorway as a result of the crash, however 47 passengers on board the aircraft were killed.
On 6 September 1997, large sections of the northbound carriageway were closed between London and Althorp, Northamptonshire to allow for the funeral procession of Diana, Princess of Wales. In an unprecedented event, police allowed pedestrians onto the normally busy northbound carriageway almost the entire length of the route to pay their respects.
In 2002, a section of the M1 near Milton Keynes was cleared using mobile police roadblocks to allow for filming of the film 28 Days Later.
An 18-mile (29 km) stretch of the motorway was closed entirely on the morning of 11 December 2005, following a major explosion and fire at the Buncefield Oil Depot which is less than half a mile (800 m) from the M1.
On 11 June 2003 three tanks were thrown across the carriageway near Junction 19 near Lutterworth when the transporter carrying them was involved in an crash; five were killed.[38]
In June 2007, the section of M1 between Junctions 32 and 36 was closed for a number of days after the Ulley Reservoir developed cracks after being deluged in the 2007 United Kingdom floods.
Part of the motorway close to Tinsley Viaduct was closed to allow safe demolition of the Tinsley cooling towers in the early hours of 24 August 2008.[39] the M1 remaining closed for much of the day until the stability of the viaduct was confirmed.
On 15 April 2011, a seven-mile stretch of the road was closed between Junctions 1 and 4 due to a fire at a scrapyard underneath the motorway.[40] The road was fully re-opened early on 21 April 2011 with a 50 mph speed limit in force whilst repair work continued to an elevated section.[40]
On 26 August 2017, two lorries and a minibus crashed between junctions 14 and 15, near Newport Pagnell, shutting down the motorway for most of the day. Eight people were killed and three severely injured. The drivers of the lorries were charged with dangerous driving, with one also charged with drunk driving. [41]
On 19 September 2017, an 11-mile stretch of the road was closed between Junctions 14 and 15, near Newport Pagnell, following a suspicious object which was found under a bridge on the southbound carriageway. Both carriageways were closed, the southbound carriageway for most of the day.

tag: ul

text: Junctions[edit]

text:
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text:
M1 motorway junctions

mile
km
Southbound exits (B carriageway)
Junction
Northbound exits (A carriageway)
Coordinates

7.0
11.3
North Circular (West), Brent Cross, Wembley, Hanger Lane, (A406 West)
J1
Southern terminus
Start of motorway
51°34′31″N 0°14′05″W / 51.57515°N 0.23471°W / 51.57515; -0.23471 (M1, Junction 1)

9.1
9.2
14.6
14.8
Central London (The City), Holloway
North Circular (A406 East) A1
J2
No access
51°36′14″N 0°14′23″W / 51.60399°N 0.23977°W / 51.60399; -0.23977 (M1, Junction 2)

12.0
19.3
London Gateway services
Services
London Gateway services
51°38′06″N 0°15′58″W / 51.63513°N 0.26610°W / 51.63513; -0.26610 (M1, London Gateway services)

13.2
13.5
21.3
21.8
Harrow, Edgware A41 (A406 North)
J4
No access
51°38′10″N 0°18′17″W / 51.63612°N 0.30468°W / 51.63612; -0.30468 (M1, Junction 4)

17.1
17.5
27.5
28.1
Harrow, Aylesbury A41
Watford A4008
J5
Aylesbury, Watford, M25 (West) A41
51°40′18″N 0°22′08″W / 51.67162°N 0.36894°W / 51.67162; -0.36894 (M1, Junction 5)

19.7
20.0
31.7
32.2
North Watford A405
J6
St Albans, Harlow, M25 (East) A405
51°42′22″N 0°22′55″W / 51.70602°N 0.38182°W / 51.70602; -0.38182 (M1, Junction 6)

20.4
20.8
32.9
33.5
Heathrow Airport, Gatwick Airport, M40, M4, M3
Stansted Airport, Dartford, M11, M20

J6a
M25 interchange
No access
51°43′06″N 0°23′10″W / 51.71831°N 0.38607°W / 51.71831; -0.38607 (M1, Junction 6a - M1-M25 interchange)

22.5
22.7
36.2
36.6
St Albans, Hatfield A414
J7
No access
51°44′57″N 0°24′33″W / 51.74930°N 0.40928°W / 51.74930; -0.40928 (M1, Junction 7)

23.5
23.8
37.8
38.3
Hemel Hempstead
J8
Hemel Hempstead A414
51°45′25″N 0°24′59″W / 51.75695°N 0.41641°W / 51.75695; -0.41641 (M1, Junction 8)

27.9
28.3
44.9
45.6
Redbourn A5183
J9
Dunstable A5, Redbourn A5183
51°49′12″N 0°25′02″W / 51.82000°N 0.41714°W / 51.82000; -0.41714 (M1, Junction 9)

30.3
30.6
48.8
49.2
Luton Airport A1081
J10
Luton (S) & Airport A1081
51°51′14″N 0°25′25″W / 51.85397°N 0.42370°W / 51.85397; -0.42370 (M1, Junction 10)

33.7
34.0
54.3
54.7
Luton (Centre), Dunstable A505
J11
Luton (Centre), Dunstable A505
51°53′36″N 0°28′12″W / 51.89347°N 0.46988°W / 51.89347; -0.46988 (M1, Junction 11)

38.9
62.6
Toddington services
Services
Toddington services
51°56′52″N 0°30′10″W / 51.94778°N 0.50275°W / 51.94778; -0.50275 (M1, Toddington services)

38.5
38.9
62.0
62.6
Flitwick, Houghton Regis, Toddington A5120
J12
Flitwick, Toddington, Woburn A5120
51°57′27″N 0°30′58″W / 51.95744°N 0.51606°W / 51.95744; -0.51606 (M1, Junction 12)

45.2
45.4
72.7
73.1
Milton Keynes (South), Bedford A421
Woburn, Ampthill A507
J13
Milton Keynes (South), Bedford A421
Ampthill A507
52°01′36″N 0°36′13″W / 52.02657°N 0.60360°W / 52.02657; -0.60360 (M1, Junction 13)

49.7
50.2
80.0
80.8
Milton Keynes (Central), Newport Pagnell A509
Bedford (A422)
Aylesbury (A5)
Leighton Buzzard (A4146)
J14
Milton Keynes (Central), Newport Pagnell A509
52°03′32″N 0°42′00″W / 52.05877°N 0.70012°W / 52.05877; -0.70012 (M1, Junction 14)

53.7
86.5
Newport Pagnell services
Services
Newport Pagnell services
52°05′00″N 0°44′55″W / 52.08330°N 0.74853°W / 52.08330; -0.74853 (M1, Newport Pagnell services)

61.8
62.3
99.4
100.2
Northampton A45
Milton Keynes (North) A508
J15
Northampton A45
Milton Keynes (North) A508
52°11′09″N 0°53′44″W / 52.18588°N 0.89551°W / 52.18588; -0.89551 (M1, Junction 15)

64.3
64.9
103.5
104.5
Northampton, Oxford A43 (M40)
Northampton services
J15a
Services
Northampton, Oxford A43 (M40)
Northampton Services
52°12′35″N 0°56′40″W / 52.20961°N 0.94435°W / 52.20961; -0.94435 (M1, Junction 15a)

67.9
68.3
109.2
109.9
Northampton A4500
J16
Daventry A45
52°13′49″N 1°00′58″W / 52.23030°N 1.01598°W / 52.23030; -1.01598 (M1, Junction 16)

75.1
120.8
Watford Gap services
Services
Watford Gap services
52°18′25″N 1°07′19″W / 52.30696°N 1.12202°W / 52.30696; -1.12202 (M1, Watford Gap services)

76.6
76.9
123.3
123.8
No access
J17
Coventry M45
52°19′29″N 1°08′26″W / 52.32464°N 1.14069°W / 52.32464; -1.14069 (M1, Junction 17)

78.5
78.9
126.3
126.9
Daventry, DIRFT A428
J18
Hinckley A5
Rugby A428
DIRFT
52°21′03″N 1°09′16″W / 52.35089°N 1.15455°W / 52.35089; -1.15455 (M1, Junction 18)

82.3
82.7
132.4
133.1
Felixstowe, Corby, Kettering A14
J19
M6/A14 interchange
The North West
Coventry, Birmingham M6
52°24′19″N 1°10′37″W / 52.40522°N 1.17704°W / 52.40522; -1.17704 (M1, Junction 19)

85.5
86.1
137.6
138.5
Lutterworth, Rugby A4303
J20
Lutterworth A4303
Market Harborough A4304
52°27′01″N 1°11′29″W / 52.45015°N 1.19146°W / 52.45015; -1.19146 (M1, Junction 10)

96.1
96.6
154.6
155.4
Coventry, Birmingham M69 (M6)
Leicester A5460
J21
Coventry M69
Leicester A5460
52°36′01″N 1°11′42″W / 52.60041°N 1.19498°W / 52.60041; -1.19498 (M1, Junction 21)

97.7
157.2
Leicester Forest East services
Services
Leicester Forest East services
52°37′09″N 1°12′21″W / 52.61920°N 1.20579°W / 52.61920; -1.20579 (M1, Leicester Forest East services)

99.3
99.5
159.8
160.1
No access
J21a
Leicester, Newark A46
52°38′09″N 1°13′05″W / 52.63577°N 1.21798°W / 52.63577; -1.21798 (M1, Junction 21a)

104.3
104.7
167.8
168.5
Leicester A50, Coalville A511
J22
Coalville, Ashby-de-la-Zouch A511
52°41′45″N 1°17′33″W / 52.69592°N 1.29240°W / 52.69592; -1.29240 (M1, Junction 22)

108.8
109.2
175.1
175.8
Loughborough, Ashby-de-la-Zouch A512
J23
Loughborough, Ashby-de-la-Zouch A512
52°45′37″N 1°16′26″W / 52.76032°N 1.27394°W / 52.76032; -1.27394 (M1, Junction 23)

113.4
113.6
182.5
182.8
The South West, Tamworth, Birmingham,
Ashby-de-la-Zouch, A42 (M42)
J23a
Services
East Midlands Airport A453
Stoke A50, Derby A6
Donington Park services
52°49′09″N 1°18′20″W / 52.81929°N 1.30544°W / 52.81929; -1.30544 (M1, Junction 23a)

114.9
115.4
184.9
185.7
Loughborough A6
East Midlands Airport A453
Donington Park services
J24
Nottingham South/Centre A453 The South West Birmingham, Tamworth, A42, (M42)
52°50′38″N 1°17′45″W / 52.84397°N 1.29570°W / 52.84397; -1.29570 (M1, Junction 24)

115.8
116.2
186.3
187.0
Stoke A50, Derby A6
J24a
No access
52°51′29″N 1°18′04″W / 52.85796°N 1.30106°W / 52.85796; -1.30106 (M1, Junction 24a)

120.0
120.5
193.2
193.9
Nottingham South, Derby A52
J25
Derby, Nottingham West/Centre A52
52°54′57″N 1°17′59″W / 52.91589°N 1.29969°W / 52.91589; -1.29969 (M1, Junction 25)

124.1
199.8
Trowell services
Services
Trowell services
52°57′44″N 1°16′02″W / 52.96216°N 1.26725°W / 52.96216; -1.26725 (M1, Trowell services)

126.0
126.6
202.8
203.7
Nottingham, Ilkeston A610
J26
Ripley, Eastwood, Nottingham North/Centre A610, Nuthall, Alfreton B600
52°59′24″N 1°14′04″W / 52.98991°N 1.23455°W / 52.98991; -1.23455 (M1, Junction)

131.5
132.0
211.7
212.4
Heanor, Hucknall A608
J27
Mansfield A608
53°03′48″N 1°16′09″W / 53.06342°N 1.26909°W / 53.06342; -1.26909 (M1, Junction 27)

135.0
135.5
217.2
218.0
Mansfield, Derby A38 Matlock (A615)
J28
Mansfield, Matlock A38
53°06′05″N 1°19′26″W / 53.10129°N 1.32398°W / 53.10129; -1.32398 (M1, Junction 28)

138.3
222.5
Tibshelf services
Services
Tibshelf services
53°08′19″N 1°19′51″W / 53.13848°N 1.33093°W / 53.13848; -1.33093 (M1, Tibshelf services)

141.7
142.3
228.1
229.0
Mansfield, Matlock A617
J29
Chesterfield A617
53°11′52″N 1°19′22″W / 53.19773°N 1.32287°W / 53.19773; -1.32287 (M1, Junction 29)

Markham Vale A6192
Bolsover (A632)
J29a
Markham Vale A6192
Bolsover (A632)
53°14′47″N 1°19′52″W / 53.24647°N 1.33111°W / 53.24647; -1.33111 (M1, Junction 29a)

148.4
148.8
238.9
239.5
Chesterfield, Newark A616
J30
Sheffield (S), Worksop A6135
53°17′11″N 1°17′46″W / 53.28651°N 1.29604°W / 53.28651; -1.29604 (M1, Junction 30)

151.3
243.5
Woodall services
Services
Woodall services
53°18′56″N 1°16′56″W / 53.31552°N 1.28214°W / 53.31552; -1.28214 (M1, Woodall services)

153.8
154.2
247.5
248.2
Worksop A57
J31
Sheffield (SE) A57
Rotherham (S), Clowne (A618)
53°21′44″N 1°17′00″W / 53.36221°N 1.28347°W / 53.36221; -1.28347 (M1, Junction 31)

156.3
156.6
251.6
252.1
The North, Doncaster, Hull, Scunthorpe M18
J32
M18 interchange
The North, Doncaster, Hull, Rotherham (E) M18
53°23′30″N 1°16′56″W / 53.39160°N 1.28231°W / 53.39160; -1.28231 (M1, Junction 32 - M1-M18 interchange)

158.8
159.2
255.6
256.2
Sheffield (centre), Rotherham, A630
J33
Sheffield (centre), Rotherham, A630
53°23′55″N 1°20′59″W / 53.39848°N 1.34977°W / 53.39848; -1.34977 (M1, Junction 33)

161.5
161.7
259.9
260.3
Meadowhall Centre, Rotherham A6109:
J34
Meadowhall, Sheffield, Rotherham A6178:
53°25′03″N 1°24′23″W / 53.41754°N 1.40634°W / 53.41754; -1.40634 (M1, Junction 34)

164.9
165.4
265.4
266.2
Rotherham, Sheffield A629
J35
Rotherham, Chapeltown, Penistone, Huddersfield A629
53°27′21″N 1°26′43″W / 53.45581°N 1.44539°W / 53.45581; -1.44539 (M1, Junction 35)

166.7
166.9
268.2
268.6
No access
J35a
Manchester, Stocksbridge A616
53°28′31″N 1°27′32″W / 53.47525°N 1.45891°W / 53.47525; -1.45891 (M1, Junction 35a)

168.0
168.5
270.3
271.2
Sheffield (North) A61, Manchester, Stocksbridge (A616)
J36
Barnsley (South) A61, Doncaster (A6195)
53°29′47″N 1°28′32″W / 53.49632°N 1.47547°W / 53.49632; -1.47547 (M1, Junction 36)

172.1
172.6
276.9
277.8
Manchester, Barnsley A628 Stockport (M67, M60)
J37
Barnsley, Pontefract, Manchester A628
53°32′55″N 1°30′56″W / 53.54872°N 1.51568°W / 53.54872; -1.51568 (M1, Junction 37)

176.4
176.9
283.9
284.7
Huddersfield, Barnsley A637
J38
Huddersfield, Barnsley A637
53°36′11″N 1°33′03″W / 53.60297°N 1.55092°W / 53.60297; -1.55092 (M1, Junction 38)

178.5
287.2
Woolley Edge services
Services
Woolley Edge services
53°37′18″N 1°32′54″W / 53.62161°N 1.54821°W / 53.62161; -1.54821 (M1, Woolley Edge services)

179.9
180.4
289.5
290.4
Denby Dale A636
J39
Denby Dale A636
53°39′02″N 1°31′43″W / 53.65064°N 1.52869°W / 53.65064; -1.52869 (M1, Junction)

182.6
183.0
293.8
294.5
Wakefield, Dewsbury A638
J40
Wakefield, Dewsbury, Batley A638
53°41′01″N 1°33′18″W / 53.68357°N 1.55508°W / 53.68357; -1.55508 (M1, Junction 40)

185.1
185.6
297.9
298.7
Wakefield, Morley A650
J41
Wakefield, Morley A650
53°42′56″N 1°32′07″W / 53.71556°N 1.53534°W / 53.71556; -1.53534 (M1, Junction 41)

186.5
187.0
300.1
301.0
Hull, Manchester M62
J42
M62 interchange
Hull, Manchester, Bradford, Liverpool M62
53°43′51″N 1°30′43″W / 53.73087°N 1.51195°W / 53.73087; -1.51195 (M1, Junction 42 - M1-M62 interchange)

188.4
189.0
303.2
304.1
No access
J43
Leeds M621
53°45′17″N 1°30′53″W / 53.75460°N 1.51461°W / 53.75460; -1.51461 (M1, Junction 43)

189.4
189.9
304.8
305.6
Leeds A639
J44
Leeds A639
53°45′45″N 1°29′29″W / 53.76256°N 1.49139°W / 53.76256; -1.49139 (M1, Junction 44)

190.8
191.2
307.1
307.7
Leeds A63
J45
Leeds A63
53°46′34″N 1°28′13″W / 53.77613°N 1.47041°W / 53.77613; -1.47041 (M1, Junction 45)

193.7
194.0
311.7
312.2
Leeds A6120
J46
Leeds A6120
Selby A63
53°47′31″N 1°25′35″W / 53.79198°N 1.42646°W / 53.79198; -1.42646 (M1, Junction 46)

196.6
197.0
316.4
317.1
Castleford A656
Garforth A642
J47
Garforth A642
The SOUTH (A1)
53°48′20″N 1°21′41″W / 53.80557°N 1.36149°W / 53.80557; -1.36149 (M1, Junction 47)

197.7
318.1
Start of motorway
A1(M), J43
Northern terminus
The North, Wetherby, York (A64), Newcastle A1(M)
53°49′18″N 1°20′19″W / 53.82178°N 1.33866°W / 53.82178; -1.33866 (M1, Northern terminus with A1(M))

Notes

Data from driver location signs/distance marker posts are used to provide distance and carriageway identification information. Where a junction spans several hundred metres and the data is available, both the start and finish values for the junction are shown. Coordinate data from ACME Mapper.

1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

      Incomplete access

text: List of sights visible from the M1[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: The M1 is the only UK motorway to use transition curves (spirals) to connect straights to curves (circles) as is usual with railways. This was found to be unnecessary and curves connect directly to straights (or curves of a different radius) on later motorways.

text:
Midland Main Line and Thameslink (between London Gateway services and Junction 1, and also between Junctions 11 and 12)
Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal (Buncefield) (after Junction 8 northbound)
Icknield Way Path crosses near Toddington Services (south of junction 12)
The Point, Xscape and Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes (between Junction 13 to 14)
Express Lift Tower in Northampton (between Junctions 14 and 16)
West Coast Main Line (runs alongside between Junctions 16 and 18)
Rugby VLF transmitter (between Junctions 18 and 19)
East Midlands Airport (between Junctions 23A and 24)
Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station (between Junctions 24 and 25)
Sutton Scarsdale Hall (on southern approach to Junction 29 – visible only to southbound traffic)
Hardwick Hall and Hardwick Old Hall (between Tibshelf Services and 29)
Bolsover Castle (between Junctions 29 and 30)
Meadowhall Shopping Centre (Sheffield, near Junction 34)
Former site of the Blackburn Meadows Power Station (Sheffield, near Junction 34, opposite Meadowhall)
Wentworth Castle (between Junctions 36 and 37)
Barnsley Town Hall (visible travelling southbound between Junctions 37 and 38)
Emley Moor mast (between Junctions 37 and 38, again between Junctions 39 and 40 and also between Junctions 45 and 46. Also visible to northbound traffic in the distance between Woodall Services and Junction 32 (on the left) and Junctions 32 – 34)
Ferrybridge Power Station (Leeds, at Junction 42 slip road, north and southbound)
Bridgewater Place (Leeds, between Junctions 43 and 45)
Temple Newsam (Leeds, between Junctions 44 and 45)