Dame Julie Andrews to direct production of My Fair Lady

Andrews won an Oscar for her performance in Mary Poppins

Dame Julie Andrews - the original star of My Fair Lady - will direct a 60th anniversary production of the musical at the Sydney Opera House next year.

The British actress played the lead role of Eliza Doolittle in a 1956 Broadway production.

The show helped to launch her acclaimed theatre, movie and television career.

Dame Julie said she was "thrilled to have been asked" and will be visiting Australia in November to cast the production.

"I look forward to... beginning the process of bringing this great musical to life once again," she said.

Based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, My Fair Lady tells the story of Cockney flower girl Doolittle who is transformed into an upper-class lady by linguistics professor Henry Higgins.

The stage production features music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and includes classic numbers such as Wouldn't It Be Loverly? and I Could Have Danced All Night.

The original Broadway production of My Fair Lady transferred to London's West End.

Audrey Hepburn starred in the 1964 film adaptation alongside Rex Harrison.

The movie won eight Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director.

The new theatre production will premiere in August 2016 as part of Opera Australia's 60th birthday celebrations.

Dame Julie will be working alongside Tony-award winning choreographer Christopher Gattelli (The King and I, South Pacific), Opera Australia's artistic director Lyndon Terrancini, and producer John Frost.

"To think that Broadway's original Eliza Doolittle, Julie Andrews, will direct our new production at the Sydney Opera House 60 years later will, I'm sure, excite both Australian and international audiences," Frost said.