NOËL COWARD & IN THIS ISSUE COMPANY AT THE IVYJANUARY 2003 NOËL COWARD & COMPANY AT THE IVY IN THIS ISSUE Lorna Dallas and June Whitfield at The Ivy The celebration of the life and

JANUARY2003

NOËL COWARD &COMPANY AT THE IVY

IN THIS ISSUE

Lorna Dallas and June Whitfield at The Ivy

The celebration of the life and workof Noël Coward at The Ivy restau-rant and the Theatre Museum,Covent Garden could simply not havebeen bettered. The sunshine wel-comed members and guests fromacross the globe into the gently litprivate room at The Ivy. Guestsincluded the actress June Whitfield,singer Lorna Dallas, broadcaster and

writer Sheridan Morley and our USrepresentative Ken Starrett. SadlyGraham Payn was unable to bewith us but his best wishes andsupport helped ensure a wonderfuloccasion. Following a toast to SirNoël Coward from Sheridan andluncheon, June talked about anearly meeting with Noël when sheauditioned for Ace of Clubs in 1950and secured the part of SunnyClaire. After a pre-West End run

at The Palace Theatre, Manchesterit went on to the Cambridge Thea-tre in London. She recalled theparties she enjoyed at Noël's homesat Gerald Road and White Cliffs,Kent and the friendship of GrahamPayn. She remembered her moth-er’s joy when Noël asked if hecould come along to a party Junewas holding - everyone was natu-rally delighted that such an impor-tant figure was attending. Noël

played the piano and sangand behaved, as he wouldhave said ‘beautifully’.Later during a dinner withHugh Martin and JackGray at June’s home thesubject of which of Noël'splays would make a goodmusical was discussed,June’s mother - a keenamateur actor - suggested

Page 1 - Report and picturesfrom our celebration at TheIvy, LondonPage 3 - History and Reviewof Pacific 1860Page 5 COWARD x2Page 6 Lovie Osborne’s StoryPage 7 Present LaughterPage 8 Noël Coward - ATemperament In HarnessPage 10 Still Life in a TubePages 12 & Page 13Obituaries - Mary Ellis &William BlezardPage 14 STOP PRESSPage 15 Committee SpotlightPages 15 & 16 WHAT’S ON?

PLEASE NOTE:The English used by theauthors of articles in HomeChat is retained and aretherefore printed in eitherBritish or US English.

The printed price of HomeChat has been amended toreflect its real cost - itremains free to members.

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AustralasiaWe Were Dancing/Shadow Play/Red peppers 2

7 to 26 Jul Queensland Theatre Co. Optus Playhouse, Brisbane (Press Night 10 Jul)Blithe Spirit 28 to 31 Aug Tropic Line TheatreTownsville, Queensland, Australia

15 Nov to 20 Dec Melbourne Theatre Co Victoria then national tour 2003 (Press Night 19 Nov)

The Rest of the WorldPrivate Lives Current Pieter Toerien Productions, Cape Town, Grahamstown, Jo’burg, South Africa

United KingdomHay Fever TBC New West End production starring Penelope Wilton

23 to 26 Apr Chesterfield Playgoers, The Pomegranate theatre, Chesterfield, Derbyshire26 May to 7 Jun Ilkley Players, The Playhouse Ilkley West Yorkshire10 to 12 Apr Aldbourne Light Entertainment Club, Memorial Hall, Aldbourne, Wilts17 to 21 Jun Kelvin Players DG The Redgrave Theatre, Bristol30 Apr to 3 May The Haven players, The Memorial Hall, Stone Cross, Eastbourne, East Sussex

Nude With Violin 7 to 14 June Stockport Garrick Theatre, Stockport, CheshirePresent Laughter 1 to 3 May The Hayes Players, The Village Hall, Hayes, Nr Bromley, Kent

16 to 18 Oct Union Theatre, The Village Hall, Dorridge, Solihull, West MidlandsBrief Encounter Current to 30 Apr Noël Coward / Andrew Taylor - Middle Ground Theatre Co UK Tour

25 Apr to 17 May Queens Theatre, HornchurchFumed Oak 13 &14 Dec Phoenix Players, Village Hall, Abertin, GlamorganCome Into The Garden Maud 6 to 10 May South London Theatre,London SE27Fallen Angels 15 to 24 Aug Hever lakeside Theatre, KentBrief Encounter Current to 30 Apr Noël Coward / Andrew Taylor - Middle Ground Theatre Co UK Tour

25 Apr to 17 May Noël Coward / Andrew Taylor - Queen’s Theatre, HornchurchRelative Values 31 May to 7 Jun Halifax Thespians at The Playhouse, Halifax, West Yorkshire

10 to 12 April Phoenix Players, Arts Centre, St. Donats, LLanwit Mahor, Vale of Glamorgan.Bitter Sweet 10 to 14 June Maidenhead Operatic Society at Maidenhead Town Hall. www.mos-uk.org.Blithe Spirit 6 Jun to 31 Oct Cumbria Theatre Trust, Theatre By The Lake, Keswick, Cumbria

11 to 16 & 18 to 30 Aug Jill Freud & Co, Southwold, Suffolk28 to 31 May Storrington Dramatic Society, The Parrish Hall, Sullington, West Sussex10 to 15 June Attfiled Theatre Company Ltd. The Guildhall, Oswestry, Shropshire8 to 10 May Digswell Players, The Village Hall, Digswell, Nr, Welwyn, Herts.9 to 12 Apr 53 Theatre Group The Library Theatre Sheffield, South Yorks14 to 16 May Beeston Players DG Roundhill School Beeston, Nottingham6 Jun to 31 Oct Cumbria Theatre Trust, Theatre By The Lake, Keswick, Cumbria11 to 16 & 18 to 30 Aug Jill Freud & Co, Southwold, Suffolk15 May to 7 Jun Theatre Clwyd, Mold

Private Lives 6 Mar to 5 Apr The Octagon Theatre, Bolton. Contact Box Office 01204 520661.The productionis directed by Octagon Artistic Director Mark Babych & features CoronationStreet's Stephen Beckett (Dr.Matt Ramsden).

19 Sep to 11 Oct Theatre Royal, York13 to 17 May The Riverside Players, The Heswall Hall, Heswall, Wirral5 to 8 Nov Belmont Theatre Company, The Arts Centre, Harrow, Pinner, Middlesex19 Sep to 11 Oct Theatre Royal, York

Still Life 22 Apr to 9 May Aldwych Tube Station, LondonWaiting In The Wings 30 Sep to 4 Oct The Old Market, Brighton

10 to 12 Apr Angel Players, The Holy Angels Church Hall, Poole, DorsetCritics Choice ***** This evening includes short pieces by 5 choreographers. One of the pieces

uses Coward’s song Dearest Love and is choreographed by Matthew Bourne.2&3 Apr The Lowry Salford1 May South Hill Park, Bracknell20 & 21 May Nottingham playhouse28 & 29 May May Oxford Playhouse2 Jun Salisbury Playhouse5 June His Majesty’s, Aberdeen14 Jun Brighton Dome22 Jun Milton Keynes Theatre26 Jun Theatre Royal, Norwich

All correspondence for Home Chat to: The Noël Coward Society, 29, Waldemar Avenue, Hellesdon, Norwich, NR6 6TBEmail: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0)1603 486 188 Fax: +44 (0)1603 400 683

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Blithe Spirit. Sometime later Coward waswon over by the ideaand High Spirits wasborn! The second treatof the afternoon wasthe glorious singing ofLorna Dallas accom-panied with panacheby Michael Haslam.Lorna sang a selectionof Noël's songs, somedrawn from her recentrole in the concert version of Pacific 1860 atNew York’s, York Theatre. Amongst hersongs was a personal favourite Later ThanSpring used in Sail Away but writtenoriginally for a musical film of the samename that was simply never more than anidea. It is a beautiful expression of the valueof love found later inlife. Mad About theBoy and Matelotwritten for Graham,Payn were followedby a selection fromPacific 1860 includ-ing the crowd-pleaserGipsy Melody whichhad accompanistMichael Haslamjumping up and joiningin during the last bars!Although this was a day to focus on thesheer pleasure that Sir Noël Coward hasgiven generations of theatregoers and loversof music and words it did provide a chanceto celebrate the Society itself and its grow-ing success in attracting so many enthusi-asts of the Master. The recent growth ofthe Society in the US is thanks to the hardwork and enthusiasm of Ken Starrett ourleading representativein the US and theinspiration and supportof Barry Day andElizabeth Sharland.There is no doubt thatwe are only at thebeginning of building onthe considerableinterest in Noël and theSociety in the US. Oneunexpected surprisewas the presentation ofa cigarette box to John Knowles the Chair of the Society. Inan address by Sheridan Morley John was thanked for his

contribution to the development ofthe Society - started in 1999through the efforts of Gareth Pikeand Michael Imison. This box wasfrom Noël's Cadogan Squareapartment and was an engravedgift to him in 1931. Unusually, Johnwas lost for words ... The lunch-eon ended when Robert Gardinerpresented flowers and gave a vote

of thanks forthe marvellouscontributionsthat both JuneWhitfield andLorna Dallashad made tothis wonderfulcelebration.Robert wassupported bythe wholecompany when

he thanked Geoffrey Skinner forall his care and hard work inplanning and managing such asplendid occasion. The Ivy hadserved us well. The level andcare of service was of a stylethat would have won Noël'sapproval - never intrusive but

always there!Then off tothe TheatreMuseumwhere RextonBunnett gavea full-screenvideo presen-tation aboutNoël's plays,musicals andsongs - withsome fasci-

nating pieces of silent footage fromtwo of the stage musicals. Withdue recognition of the knowledgeabout the Master shared by us allhe provided an informed pictorialjourney from London Calling toLas Vegas cabaret with somefootage that very few, if any, wouldhave seen before. With our thanksto Rex for providing the mostrelevant of endings to the day, we

sped out into the dying sunshine and the crowds ofCovent Garden.

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WHAT’S ON? ACROSS THE GLOBE (* denotes Premiere, TBC = To be confirmed)Where known, professional companies are shown in red and amateur companies in blackAmerica & CanadaBlithe Spirit 24 Apr to 10 May Whitby Courthouse Theatre, Whitby, Ontario

Mar to Apr 2004 Denver Center, Denver, COJul to Aug Atlantic Thr. Co., Wolfville, Nova ScotiaJun to Aug Purple Rose Thr., Chelsea, Mich.Sep to Oct Utah (more information to follow...)

Hay Fever 7 to 19 Jun The New Harmony Theatre Opening, New Harmony Indiana.24 Jun to 31 Aug Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, Utah, USA. More

info:www.bard.org.June Westport Country Playhouse, Westport, ConnSept.-Oct Pacific Repertory Thr., Carmel, CAJul Highlands Playhouse, Highlands, South Carolina

Suite in Two Keys 9 Jun Food for Thought Productions at Symphony Space, New York CityDesign For Living 5 to 13 Feb 2004 Amicus Productions Toronto, OntarioPresent Laughter 2 Mar to 1 Nov Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland OR. www.orshakes.org

24 to 26 Apr Monashee Mountain Players, Rock Creek, BCStar Quality 7 Mar to 16 Apr The Pasadena Playhouse www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org for information.Relative Values 7 Jun to 5 Jul The Metropolitan Cooperative Theatre Society, Vancouver BCWaiting for Coward May 5th A play by Elizabeth Sharland at the Algonquin, NYCPrivate Lives 8 to 17 May Gateway Theatre Guild, North Bay, Ontario

21 to 30 Aug Weston Playhouse in Weston, Vermont. Additionalinformation will appear on the theatre's website at www.westonplayhouse.org.

7 to 23 Apr Gimli Theatre Association, Gimli, Manitoba20 to 30 Dec University of Windsor, School of Drama and Arts, Windsor, ONSep to Nov Globe Thr., Regina, Saskatchewan., Canada, ;Jul to Aug Post Playhouse, Chadron, Nebr.Sep Riverside Thr., Iowa City, Iowa,Jul to Sep Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CAJul to Aug The Red Barn Thr., Jackson Point, OntarioAug to Sep PCPA Theaterfest, Santa Monica, CAJul Pioneer Valley Summer Thr.,Easthampton, Mass.Jul Timber Lake Playhouse, Mt. Carroll, IllinoisAug Weston Playhouse, Weston, Vermont,Aug to Sep Lamb's Players Thr., Coronado, CAApr Lock 3 Thr., St. Catharines, Ont.Jan to Feb, 2004 Lyric Stage, Boston, Mass.Apr to May New Stage Thr., Jackson, Miss.May to June Olney Thr. Center, Olney, MarylandAug Capitol Thr., Port Hope, OntarioApr to May, 2004 Irish Classical Thr. Buffalo, NY

EuropeHay Fever 16/21/23/26/28 May THUNIS - Theater der Universität des Saarlandes, Saarbruecken

Committee Spotlight ...Stephen Greenman our new SecretaryStephen started his working life as anauctioneer in the mid 70s but left theUK a few years later to tour aroundthe world as a professional Ice Skaterwith Holiday on Ice. During whichtime he discovered Coward whilsttreading in his footsteps throughoutthe Far East and South America. Heretired from the frozen stage in the mid90’s having stopped skating and being

more involved in production anddirection for some time. Since then hehas been working in educationcurrently senior manager for a newcollege in Greenwich where he hasresponsibility for finance andfacilities.Footnote ...Sheridan Morley began our celebrationat The Ivy with this Coward verse:When I have fears as Keats had fearsOf the moment I’ll cease to be

I console myself with vanished yearsRemember laughter, remembered tears,And the peace of the changing sea

When I feel sad, as Keats felt sad,That my life is so nearly doneIt gives me comfort to dwell uponRemembered friends who are dead and goneAnd the jokes we had and the fun

How happy they are I cannot knowBut happy am I who loved them so.© The Estate of the Late Noël Coward

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where it hadbeen used forthe subsequentAustralianproduction.For the CoventGarden Festivalof that year -andsubsequently atthe Chicago

revived, it means that we now havea way to test the appeal of a showto a contemporary audience thatwould otherwise only see its namein the pages of a theatrical history.Inevitably, there are some trade-offs and this is where the adaptormust tread lightly - especially withthe book.No costumes and no sets. So who’swho and where are we? An originalcast that’s too large to be practical.Who and what can you cut withoutendangering the author’s originalintention? How, in general terms,can you abbreviate a piece pacedfor an audience of an earlier era tokeep the attention of acontemporary audience that getsthe point faster and has a shorterattention span?In approaching After the Ball I tooka leaf out of Noël's own book.When he came to produceConversation Piece on LP in 1956with Lily Pons reprising YvonnePrintemps’ role as Melanie, he usedhis own narration in rhymingcouplets to link the musicalnumbers. While I didn’t need to cuthis (and Wilde’s) dialogue to anyappreciable extent, I felt I had tacitapproval to speed things up andcover gaps by using the samedevice - and to date I have not beenaware of any celestial fingerwagging.A Narrator has another dramaticadvantage in staging a period piece.He or she can give the audience anattitude towards the piece from theoutset. By his tone the Narrator cansuggest how you should react towhat you are about to see. “Yes,we know this isn’t the way thingsare now - and, to be fair, it may nothave been the way things were then- but, since we’re all modernsophisticates here, why don’t werelax and indulge ourselves in what-might-have-been for a couple ofhours?I took the character of the Duchessof Berwick and made her into theNarrator. Every so often she would

When the Coward Centenary wasapproaching, I began to look aroundfor some of Noël's lesser knownwork that we might showcase, ifonly as some sort of reward forloyalists who could already quotethe ‘classics’ word for word.I was particularly anxious to seeone or more of the musicals revived- and there the problems began.Orchestrations - or, rather, the lackof them. Many of the composers ofthe ‘golden age’ suffer in the sameway. The show would have its runand then - presumably because theproducer didn’t have a revival inmind and because theorchestrations were bulky to store -out they would go.For most of Noël's shows we couldfind only partial orchestrations andfor several only the piano and vocalscore. Yes, they could bereconstructed from recordings butonly at prohibitive cost.At that point a game of detectioncan begin. When it came to revivingSail Away with Elaine Stritch atCarnegie Hall, we found we hadmost of Peter Matz’s revisedorchestrations but what hadhappened to the originals? TheCarnegie producer had the brilliantlysimple idea of phoning DonaldSeawell, a lawyer who was one ofthe producers of the 1961 originalproduction. Why, yes - he had themthere in his Denver office. Wouldwe like them? Even then there wasone song missing that we wanted touse. “Bronxville Darby and Joan”had been cut from the Broadwayproduction but used in London. Themusic finally turned up in Australia,

Humanities Festival - we decidedto restore the 1954 After the Ball -Noël's musical version of Wilde’sLady Windermere’s Fan. Most ofthe orchestrations were extant,though with several awkward gaps.In this case we bit the bullet andpaid musicologist and conductor,John McGlinn to fill in those gaps,so that the piece could beperformed with full orchestra. So itwas - and very fine it sounded.But it was when we staged it againin New York that a fundamentaltruth emerged that will, I believe,help us to bring Noël's theatremusic to wider audiences in thefuture...It was the same ‘concert’ versionthat we had played twice beforebut this time all we had was asingle piano accompaniment. Asthe evening developed, it becameclear that - in eliminating, bynecessity, the elaborate sets,costumes and orchestrations - wehad revealed the kernel of thepiece. It was a ‘chamber musical’- essentially an intimate story andnot a spectacle. Not only did younot need the trappings, theyactually got in the way.We found out something else.Noël's lyrics are invariably soliterate and witty that it is easy forthem to get lost in the singing. Thesimple piano accompanimentallowed them to speak - or rather,sing out - for themselves for thefirst time. So virtue emerged fromnecessity and, since the economicsof staging a full scale revival meanin practice that only a handful ofthe old faithfuls are likely to be

Barry Day reviews the history of his latest revival

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COMMITTEE - 2003Patron: Graham PaynHonorary President: Sir John MillsHonorary Vice Presidents: JudyCampbell Moira Lister Sheridan MorleyConsultants Philip Hoare Joel KaplanChair - John Knowlesemail:[email protected] is a Director of NC Ltd.Membership Secretary - GeoffreySkinneremail: [email protected] is a representative of SamuelFrenchSecretary - Stephen [email protected] is a senior manager for acollege in Greenwich.Treasurer - Graham Martin emailemail:[email protected] is a partner of Blinkhorns(Accountants)Michael ImisonMichael is a director of Noël CowardLtd. and is the immediate Past Chair ofthe SocietyRobert GardinerRobert is a Director of Noël CowardLtd. & a trustee of the Noël CowardFoundation.Gareth PikeGareth is a Past Secretary of theSociety.Claire OsborneClaire represents Warner Chappellmusic publishersStewart NichollsStewart is a Theatre Producer/DirectorBarry DayBarry is an established author andCoward historian and US ConsultantStephen MarshallKnew Noël Coward and was theSecretary of the First-NightersJane FinchJane is very active in the world ofdrama in the West Midlands

Ali HowarthAli represents Alan Brodie Representa-tion who administer the Estate of theLate Noël CowardNed ChailletNed is a producer at BBC DramaPeter TummonsPeter is the director of Methuen DramapublishingMarcy Kahan - Media RepresentativeMarcy is a screenwriter and stagedramatist.Barbara LongfordLawton Clark - Media RepresentativeStuart Clark - Student Representativve

US RepresentativesKen Starrett in New York email:[email protected] O’Brien in Philadelphia email:[email protected] Smyth in Trevose near Phila-delphia email:[email protected] Farley in San Francisco email:[email protected] Bierig Chicago and the Midwestemail: [email protected]

QUERIES TO ...John Knowles email:[email protected] knowledge of Coward, editorof Home Chat and the Website.Michael Imison email:[email protected] detailed knowledge of the playsand UK and US productions.Dominic Vlasto email:[email protected] in Coward musicology &performance, songs & lyrics andrecordings.Geoffrey Skinner (Samuel French)email: [email protected] Membership and all sales

of CDs and books.Gareth Pike email: [email protected], general and biographicalqueries - has an extensive collection ofCoward theatre programmesStephen Marshall email:[email protected] detailed knowledge and archivesof information on the recordings,programmes, tributes plus extensivecollection of newspaper cuttings.For enquiries about amateur rightsfor plays please contact the following.Samuel French Ltd, 52 Fitzroy Street,London W1T 5JR, United Kingdom Tel:020 7255 4302 for the UKSamuel French Inc., 45 West 25thStreet, New York, NY 10010, USAPhone (212) 206-8990 Fax (212) 206-1429Samuel French Ltd.,7623 SunsetBoulevard, Hollywood CA 90046 USASamuel French (Canada) Ltd., 100Lombard Street - Dept.W , Toronto,Ont., Canada M5C 1M3Phone (416) 363-3536 Fax (416) 363-1108For professional rights to all writtenwork:Alan Brodie Representation, 211,Piccadilly, London, W1J 9HF, UnitedKingdomTel: +44 (0) 20 7917 2871 Fax: +44 (0) 207917 2872For enquiries and rights regardingmusic, sheet music and scores contact:Warner Chappell Music Group Ltd.,Griffin House, 161 Hammersmith Road,London, W6 8BS, United KingdomPhone: 44-208-563-5800 Fax: 44-208-563-5801or Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.,10585Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles,CA 90025-4950, U.S.A.Tel: 1-310-441-8600 Fax 1-310-470-6399

STOP PRESS ...Over My Shoulder

Update ...Stewart Nicholls is directing andchoreographing a new production ofthe musical Over My Shoulder - theJessie Matthews story - featuringsongs by Cole Porter, Irving Berlin,Noël Coward and Rodgers & Hart.Anne Rogers and Helen Baker playJessie! Some of you may have seen theoriginal production when it was

presented it at the Jermyn StreetTheatre in November 2001. This newproduction has been revised and thereare some new song additions and newcast members. It has a 5-week run atThe Mill at Sonning - a Theatre justoutside Reading. It is a lovely oldwatermill that has been converted intoa theatre - and is set in the beautifulBerkshire countryside. The run is from8th April - 10th May. Performances areevery evening (except Mondays) withmatinees on Saturdays and some

Sundays. Cost of the ticket includes ameal - so it’s a really nice evening out!!Tickets can be obtained from the box-office: 0118 9698000. web-site:www.millatsonning.comFollowing the run it plays for a week atthe Greenwich Theatre, South EastLondon. 13th - 17th May. Tickets canbe obtained from their box-office on:0208 858 7755.Stewart hopes that you may be able tocome along and support the show!

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he was instinctively keeping thescore intact, in case one day...The simple economic fact oftheatrical life is that we are neverlikely to see a full scale revival ofany Coward musical, costumed andcomplete with a cast of thousands.But we can see the characters andhear the songs that were sung inNoël's head and heart and that,surely, is what matters ?Next stop - Conversation Piece ?

Ken Starrett reviews the recentproduction at the York Theatre

The 34-year-old York TheatreCompany, currently under theguidance of Artistic Director,James Morgan, has a strong,ongoing connection with NoëlCoward. Productions of his playsinclude Quadrille and Nude withViolin. It was the first theatre inthe United States to present

prominent Stirling family on theisland of Samolo, has beensimplified by means of a clevernarration, delivered amusingly andwith great charm by Simon Jones.Enacting the role of the Governor,he sings ‘His Excellency Regrets’in a most entertaining fashion. Therole of Elena (originated by MaryMartin) was played with sparklingenergy by Nancy Anderson whoselovely soprano voice made ‘I SawNo Shadow On The Sea’ aromantic highlight. To ‘Alice Is AtIt Again’ (cut from the originalproduction), she brought her sharpsense of humor. Milan Cronovich,portraying one of the Stirling sons,Kerry (the role originated byGraham Payn), has a warmbaritone voice, which when joinedwith Ms. Anderson made the duets‘Bright Was The Day’ and ‘MyHorse Has Cast A Shoe’ at oncelilting and charming. Lorna Dallas

pop up to comment on what wasgoing on and push the action along,before stepping back into her owncharacter in the play. Havingwatched her do that with severalaudiences convinced me that thedevice worked and was in keepingwith Noël's intention. She took theaudience by the elbow and let themrelax and enjoy the words andmusic.When it came to Pacific 1860 Idecided to use the same device, inwhat was a harder piece to adapt.Lady Windermere’s Fan was aknown quantity; it had had its ownaudience for over a century. Pacific1860 was entirely a figment ofNoël's imagination. Even the islandof Samolo was an invention - thoughJamaica keeps springing insistentlyto mind.Here I took the character ofGrayshott, the Governor Generaland paterfamilias. Why not havehim tell the story in a sort offlashback, addressing a modernaudience as the storyteller of acharming romance that happenedway back when? By identifying withhim, you follow where he leads andsmile with the characters ratherthan at them.Intention is all very well but theaudience determines the reaction.The reception the piece receivedrecently in its five performances atNew York’s, York Theatre wouldseem to suggest that, ironically, aseen-it-all-been-there-done-that-bought-the-T-shirt audience is inmore of a mood for romance thanthat austerity-conditioned Britishaudience of 1947. Which sayssomething about both the times andthe timelessness of the piece.And then there’s the score. One ofThe Master’s most romantic andamusing but - because so many ofthe songs spring straight from theplot - largely unheard except forthat handful of Coward devoteeswho have managed to unearth theoriginal cast recording. “We’reLiving in a Changing World” wasbriefly considered for the later SailAway but it almost seems as though

Sheridan Morley’s Noël andGertie. With the eagerly awaitedAmerican premiere of Pacific1860, they have added anotherjewel to the Coward crown.The script of the lavish 1946production, which had a largechorus and 43 speaking roles, hasbeen skilfully adapted by BarryDay for a talented cast of only 11.Condensing and double-castinghave made a staged concertversion possible that is smoothlydirected by Simon Jones. Thecomplicated plot, involving the

was the very proper matriarch ofthe Stirling family, and was alsocast in the role of the sophisticated,worldly Rosa, duenna andconfidante to Elena. She and Ms.Anderson had delicious fun with‘Gypsy Melody.’ Her rich, soaringinterpretation of ‘This Is A NightFor Lovers’ and ‘This Is AChanging World’ was trulymemorable. Stephen Mo Hanan, amost engaging actor, got a chanceto display his versatility with thecharacterizations of Mr. Stirling, thestern head of the family, and Felix,

Barry Day (left) with Simon Jones (centre) and the cast.

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who could capture that Coward style,”said Morley:“He was one of the last gentlemenartists. Singers adored him because henever wanted to be a star. He knew hisplace, which was on the piano stool.With his wild hair he looked likeBeethoven, but inside lurked a naughtyschoolboy. I have never seen anyoneelse play while lying on their backunder the piano, so all you could seewas his fingers.”Blezard was musical director in 1986 forthe musical Café Puccini with NicolaMcAuliffe, and then played for HonorBlackman in The Life and Times ofYvette Guilbert and DishonorableLadies. Blezard and Blackman workedtogether for the next 10 years. “Williamwas my staunch support and brilliant

opposite is true of Present Laugh-ter . Here most of the main char-acters arehaving sexoutside mar-riage (even thevalet). All ofthem exceptGarry (and thevalet) go togreat lengths,as in conven-tional farce, toconceal whatthey are doing,while theyattack Garryfor his lack ofdiscretion.When, as inconventional farce, all is finallyrevealed, Garry rounds on them andattacks them not for their infidelitiesbut for their hypocrisy and forturning a straightforward recrea-tional activity into an excuse fordrama and treachery. He, who isalways being accused of acting inprivate life, is, as he says to Joanna,fundamentally honest. He is happyto enjoy sex as long as it’s offeredbut when it’s not will be equallyhappy with an apple and a goodbook. This, to me, has the ring of anauthentic opinion and I believe thatit was to make this point thatCoward wrote the play, while

... Continued from page 7 seizing the opportunity to make a fewgood jokes at his own expense.

Dominic Dromgoole’s touring pro-duction of the play takes its cuealmost exclusively from the farcicalelement. Perhaps he believes that inthe twenty-first century the lessonabout being honest and open hasbeen learnt. In Rik Mayall he has aleading man whose grotesque televi-sion performances raise expectationswhich are amply satisfied here. Heleaps into the part with vigour, hisgrimaces and exaggerated gesturesnever failing to raise a laugh. He ismatched by William Mannering’shysterical and overtly gay RolandMaule. Homosexual humour isanother freedom of the twenty-first

accompanist. No one, but no one willever be as good,” Blackman says.His CD recordings include The PianoMusic of William Blezard (2001) playedby Eric Parkin, with a second volumedue out this year; ‘Battersea Park Suite’on the collection British Light MusicDiscoveries, 4 (2001); the orchestraloverture ‘Caramba’ from 1966 releasedon British Light Overtures (2002); ‘TwoCeltic Pieces’ on English OboeConcertos (2001), played by theEnglish Northern Philharmonia; and‘Duetto’ (1951), played by the RoyalBallet Sinfonia on English StringMiniatures, Vol. 3 (2001).Blezard never stopped working toimprove his technique, says his sonPaul. He worked equally hard, too,although not ashamed of his humble

background, to lose his boyhoodstammer and his broad Lancashireaccent – and “to overcome his personaldemons of doubt and worry”.He and his family lived in a ramblinghouse just off Barnes Common, theliving room dominated by his grandpiano. Whenever he wanted toemphasise a point, he would leap up todemonstrate on the keys. He neverretired and the night before he died hewas performing at a charity concert inBarnes.

With grateful thanks to RobertGardiner for drawing attention to thisexcellent obituary and to theIndependent newspaper - Tuesday11th March 2003

century denied to Coward. Fromknowing looks at the reference to“Boy Scouts” to Garry and Morris

actually collapsing into acompromising position onthe floor, this productionloses no opportunity toplant this form of humourin the virgin soil of theplay. I suspect Noëlwould have winced,though even he wouldhave to acknowledge thattimes have changed.

Present Laughterby Noël Coward

UK TourPresented by Theatre

Royal Bath Produc-tions

First performed January 212003 at the Theatre Royal

BrightonDirector Dominic DromgooleDesign Michael TaylorLighting Natasha ChiversGarry Essendine Rik MayallLiz Essendine Caroline HarkerMorris Dixon Gerard MacArthurHenry Lyppiatt John DougallJoanna Lyppiatt Kim ThomsonMonica Reed Pooky QuesnellFred John DougallMiss Erikson Joanne HowarthDaphne Stillington Sally BrettonLady Saltburn Susan PorrettRoland Maule William Mannering

Photograph by Jane Sallis at:www.orangeneko.com/rik/photos.htm

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the excitable manager trying toentice Elena back to her concertcareer. The daughters of theStirling family (condensed from 6 to2) were brightly played by EmilyRozek and Christina Morrell, whileMichael McEachran gave the roleof the elder Stirling son, Rollo, acrisp authority. The four Stirlingchildren clearly enjoyed performingthe humorous ‘Uncle Harry,’ whichwas definitely an audience favorite.Melissa Rain Anderson wasPenelope, a friend of the family, andgave the audience a special treatwith her rendition of ‘I Wish IWasn’t Quite Such A Big Girl.’Giving strong support in variousother roles were Jeff Edgerton andDan Maceyak.‘Pacific 1860’ has a beautiful score.Neglected far too long, it wastreated with great care by musicalsupervisor, Jack Lee, and pianist,Eugene Gwozdz. Members of theaudience were indeed fortunate tohave the chance to hear theselovely melodies.Following the matineeperformances, Barry Day andmembers of the cast answeredquestions from the audience. Inspite of a dated, old-fashioned book,many felt the music provided a mostdelightful evening. There were a lotof interesting queries concerning thehistory of Pacific 1860 and alsoother works of Noël Coward.At the end of the opening nightperformance, James Morganpresented Ms. Anderson and Ms.Dallas with flowers and read themessage from a very specialtelegram: “I really can’t tell youhow thrilled and pleased I amthat you are going to revive dearold ‘Pacific 1860.’ Noël wouldbe, too. He always felt it was oneof his most charming scores andthat it was never heard toadvantage in that drafty, war-damaged theatre he alwaysreferred to as Dreary Lane!Good Luck to all of you. Brightwas the day you decided to do it.”Graham Payn

On Monday, March 17, 2003at The University Club 1 West 54thStreet, New York, there was anevening of Coward to benefit theShakespeare Globe Centre USA. Itfeatured Rosemary Harris, SallyAnn Howes, Barrie Ingham,Simon Jones, and Hayley Millsin Noël Coward’s Age CannotWither and Barry Day’s Noël &Alfred & Lynn.This successful evening raisedsome $20,000 for the Centerfounded in 1974 by SamWanamaker. It provides support forthe Globe Theatre in London andfor a programme of readings,lectures, research and servicesthroughout the US and in London.Here are Barry Day’s notes for theevening:

Noël & Will ...an odd couple?

Not really. Name two other menwho had such effortless commandof the English language and whocould cloak wisdom with wit.And then The Master had suchhigh regard for The Bard that hetook the title of several of hisown plays from him. This HappyBreed (Richard ll) ... PresentLaughter (Twelfth Night) ... andfrom Antony and Cleopatra, hislast unfinished play - Age CannotWither.In 1923, Coward wrote FallenAngels, in which two ladies are

approaching middle agewith some reluctance.Years ago, they hadshared a French loverand are now tremulouslyawaiting his return.Nearly fifty years later,in Age Cannot Wither,he speculates whatmight have happened tothree women - not unlikethem - who are now intheir sixties and meetevery year to exchangenews and gossip andhave a drink or two ...

or three ... while they do so.In 1921, on his first impoverishedtrip to New York, the youthfulNoël was saved from starving byhis new friends, Alfred Lunt andLynn Fontanne. Not yet ‘TheLunts’- and not even married -they became his friends for thenext fifty years.Such are the well-known facts.Noël wrote three plays especiallyfor them, in one of which, the1933 Design for Living, he alsoacted himself.In researching my books on him, Icame across the letters they sent toeach other over the years. Readingthem gave you the texture of theirrelationship - the news, the chat,the teasing - and I had the vision ofthe three of them, sitting timelessly inthat Great Green Room-in-the-sky,reminiscing still. Hence - with alittle help from The Master -Noël&Alfred&Lynn ...

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WilliamBlezard

Joyce Grenfell’s exuberantmusical director

William Blezard was a talentedcomposer who was musical director toNoël Coward, Marlene Dietrich andJoyce Grenfell.For 20 years from 1954 he composedGrenfell’s songs and spoof operettassuch as Freda and Eric. Theyperformed on stage and television allover Britain, America and Australia. Hecould play her entire repertoire frommemory, even though she oftenchanged the running order at the lastmoment. To warm up before a showthey would improvise fake Debussyand mock Schubert; he learned to playover hailstorms in Melbourne, cowboyfilms in Sydney, bagpipes in Aucklandand the police radio on Grenfell’s mike.Blezard was born in 1921 near Burnley,Lancashire. His parents worked in thelocal cotton mill and as a child he woreclogs. The mill-owner’s daughterspotted his musical talent andpersuaded a friend to pay for pianolessons. On leaving Clitheroe RoyalGrammar School in 1938 he won acounty scholarship to the RoyalCollege of Music and at the outbreakof the Second World War he became anRAF Morse code operator in Scotland.After the war he returned to the RoyalCollege, where he won the CobbettPrize for composition for a FantasyString Quartet. He then wrote music forMuir Mathieson’s documentary films atDenham Studios and many othersincluding The Cardboard Cavalier(1949 , with Margaret Lockwood), BeauBrummell (1953, with Peter Ustinov),and Noël Coward’s The AstonishedHeart (1949).In 1954 Blezard had arranged aperformance for two pianos withDonald Swann and Sydney Carter. Itwas Swann who introduced Blezard toJoyce Grenfell, and she engaged him asher musical director. During rehearsalsthe same year for Joyce GrenfellRequests the Pleasure, Blezard marriedthe conductor Joan Kemp Potter. Theshow lasted for over a year, ending itsWest End run at St. Martin’s, where thepiano was so bad that Blezard asked

the management to buy an uprightBechstein at Harrods’ sale.After this production, Grenfell decidedthat Blezard’s piano skills were suchthat she no longer needed an orchestra.He could play any tune by ear, arrangeit in any key or style and transcribe iton to paper without a piano. She wrotein her 1979 autobiography, In PleasantPlaces:“He is compounded of compressedenergy, employed at its best when he isplaying the piano, then it is whollycontrolled. His familiarity with thekeyboard has the naturalness ofbreathing; and he moves in it withconfidence, dexterity and grace.”Grenfell insisted on Blezard’s receivingequal credit, and she would complain tothe organisers if he was left off a posteror not mentioned in a review. She alsopushed for higher fees, and persuadedthe BBC to increase his fee from 10 to200 guineas for two cabaret televisionshows.Diana Lyddon was the stage managerfor Grenfell’s 1960 British tour:“The venues were often town halls.They were all under contract to providea tuned Steinway grand. As I wastrying to fix the lighting, Bill wouldstomp in and say, “Bloody awful pianoagain.” The next time we touredtogether I always checked in advance.”At Grenfell’s last performance, for theWaterloo Dinner at Windsor Castle inJune 1973, she insisted she would onlydine with the Queen if William and JoanBlezard were invited too. The Queenchose the programme, includingBlezard’s favourite “The Battle Marchof Delhi”, a melodramatic Victoriansong involving colonels, maraudersand bugles.Grenfell supported the Blezard family inunexpected ways – she bought them adishwasher one Christmas, wrotebirthday songs for their children, Pauland Pookie, and contributed to Paul’sfirst motorbike. Every summer, Joyceand Reggie Grenfell treated William andJoan to a week at the Aldeburgh MusicFestival. For the royal opening ofSnape Maltings concert hall in 1967,Blezard and Grenfell composed asurprise song for Benjamin Britten. Hewas so overwhelmed that he burst intotears.In 1957 Blezard was musical director inLondon and New York for JohnOsborne’s The Entertainer, starringLaurence Olivier. Twenty years later heplayed for Max Wall in the same role.

When BBC2 was launched in 1964,Blezard was one of the musicaldirectors for the innovative children’sprogramme Play School with JohnnyBall and Brian Cant. Anne Reay, whowas a producer, says, “His job was toimprovise music to the action of thepresenters – anything from a storm atsea to ice-cream melting. Hisinterpretation was always exuberant.”He also worked on the 1970s adultliteracy programme On the Move withRolf Harris.In 1965 he took over from BurtBacharach as Marlene Dietrich’smusical director and toured with herworldwide. “We had a row in everyHilton in Europe,” he said. “But shealways made up for it in champagneafterwards.” At one London show,Robert Morley was sitting in the frontrow. As Blezard came to the end of theopening national anthem, Morley leantforward and said, “So far, so good.”Blezard was accompanying Dietrich inAustralia in 1975 when she broke herleg on stage, her final performance.In 1983 Sheridan Morley engagedBlezard in 1983 as musical director forNoël and Gertie, which began its longrun with Joanna Lumley at the King’sHead, Islington. Lumley recalls:It was a tiny cast in a tiny theatre withno dressing rooms but Bill helped makeit one of the happiest jobs I ever did.He was a life-enhancer who treatedevery performance as if it was theWigmore Hall.For Patricia Hodge in the next cast,Blezard was “the musician’s musician”:“Even under the spotlight, he wasoblivious to anything other than themusic and he wouldn’t let you get awaywith a mistimed quaver. When my firstson was born, he wrote him a lullabyfor clarinet and piano, and sent us boththe sheet music and a recording.”“Bill Blezard was the one composer

More on our new book offer for‘Coward On Film’ soon..

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A Story across the years sent in from Adelaide, Australia ...The following newspaper andnewsletter extracts follow thejourney of a cherished red carna-tion (Noël's favourite flower)garnered by a fan during the visitNoël Coward made to Australia in1940.

The Lovie OsborneStory

At our October meeting last year,the Noël Coward AppreciationSociety was presented with tworemarkable souvenirs of NoëlCoward’s visit to Adelaide inDecember 1940. Through hernephew Lyndon Whaite and his wifePam, Mrs. Lovie Osborne of PortVincent gave into our safekeeping apressed scarlet carnation which shehad begged of Noël Coward duringa Red Cross charity ball at the PalaisRoyal on the evening of Tuesday10th December. Along with thebeautifully preserved red carnation inits pressed cellophane wrappingcame two Advertiser articles aboutthe event.One article, Mrs. WorthingtonSong Appreciated By Theatre Folk,tells the story of how one girl fromthe Independent Theatre partysouvenired Mr. Coward’s scarletcarnation. That girl was LovieOsborne who in a letter to thepresident describes how it all cameabout. Mrs. Oshorne’s letter isprinted in this edition of thenewsletter together with a secondAdvertiser article telling theremarkable story of how Cowardmet and remembered the name of ayoung sailor whose mother hadoffered him hospitality on holiday 26years before. Coward wasrenowned for his ability to rememberpeople. There are many stories ofhim coming up with names ofwarded soldiers in the field hospitalshe visited whom be had met onlyonce often years before. His abilityto focus on and take in people is oneof the reasons Coward engendered

such loyalty and affection among hislegion of friends and fans.Lovie Osborne’s story is a snap ofAdelaide theatre history from 60years ago. It reveals not only NoëlCoward’s remarkable charisma butcaptures the personality of a verypersistent and highly spirited youngwoman. It’s not everyone who canclaim Noël Coward said of her: Youare the most persuasive woman Ihave ever met.The Noël Coward AppreciationSociety is very grateful to Mrs LovieOsborne. Not only for her generousdonation of Noël Coward’s redcarnation, but for her feistydetermination to get what she wasafter. After all these years, we arethe heirs of her powers ofpersuasion.In recognition of her generosity andpersonal experience in meeting NoëlCoward, The Noël CowardAppreciation Society of SouthAustralia has offered Mrs LovieOsborne Honorary Life Membershipof the society, which she hasgraciously accepted,A remarkable woman; a remarkableman; a remarkable story. Thank youagain Mrs Osborne for trusting uswith the story and your treasures.

14 Beeston StreetPort Vincent SA 5581

23 October 2002

Dear Mr. HailstormMy nephew Lydon was sure youwould like to know how I acquiredthe carnation from Noël Coward. Iwas at a Red Cross Ball at the PalaisRoyal with a group of amateurtheatrical friends and somehow I waschallenged to see if I could get Mr.Coward to join our party! Never beingone to back away from a challenge, Iwaited until the official party did notsurround him then slipped into the boxadjoining his. I tapped him on theshoulder and asked if he would like tojoin our party He looked me over fromtop to toe and finally said ‘You lead onand I’ll follow’ which he did. Arrivingat our box, the poor man was besieged

by yet more autograph hunters! Hevery graciously signed everythingfrom matchboxes to scraps ofpaper. I then said to my friends,‘Well I did it!’ They replied. ‘Thatwas TOO easy, now get hiscarnation!!!’ My goodness anotherchallenge! I then asked Mr. Cowardif he would mind giving me hisCarnation as a souvenir of theevening. ‘Oh no, no, no! was hisreply. I then said, “I have not askedyou for your autograph and havehelped you. If you give me yourcarnation I will take you back to theofficial party away from this madcrowd!” He replied, “You are themost persuasive woman I have evermet!” and then kindly gave me histrademark carnation. I then escortedhim back to the official party in theirbox. The rest of the story you knowby the newspaper cutting.With the Association being thecustodian of the carnation as youstated it could still be in existence inanother 60 years It is a piece oftheatrical history, probably notknown to many people. Again mythanks for the lovely carnation itwas much appreciatedYours sincerely, Lovie Osborne

(During our October meeting, weentrusted a fresh red carnation toLyndon and Pam Whaite whichthey delivered to Mrs Osborne inPort Vincent. We thank them verymuch for their kindness, andwelcome them especially as newmembers of NCASSA)The original newspaper articlesare shown below:

Noël CowardRemembers ...

A man in naval uniform came up toNoël Coward last night at the ballat the Palais Royal.“Do you remember me?” heasked. Noël Coward looked at himfor a moment, then his face lit up.“Etheridge,” he exclaimed. “Corn-wall when you were eight year’sold and I was 14. I spent a holiday

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Mary Ellis,London Star of

Stage and Screen,Is Dead at 105

A prolific actress who performedher last role, on television, at 97

By DOUGLAS MARTINMary Ellis, the young opera singerfor whom Rudolf Friml wroteRose-Marie in 1924 and who laterbecame the queen of musicals inLondon, died there on Thursday at herhome on Eaton Square. She was 105,including the three years that Hollywoodpublicists subtracted in the 1930’s.Her title role in the operetta Rose-Marie, her first venture into musicaltheater, was one of the biggestBroadway hits of the 1920’s, runningfor 558 performances. ArthurHammerstein, the producer, ordered itwritten especially for her, and longbefore Jeanette MacDonald’s hitversion of “Indian Love Call” fromthe 1936 film adaptation, criticsuniversally hailed Miss Ellis’s highlytrained singing.Her dramatic career lasted until shewas 97, although she appearedexclusively in England after the1930’s, partly because of a breach withHammerstein that kept her permanentlyoff the American musical stage.Her London stage consort, thecomposer and actor Ivor Novello, aleading rival of Noël Coward, calledher his inspiration and built severalhits around her. She also had a majorLondon success with Jerome Kern’sMusic in the Air.Miss Ellis’s glamorous circleincluded Fred and Adele Astaire,Harpo Marx and George Gershwin,with whom she fell fruitlessly in love. Inher Hollywood career, Fritz Lang andMarlene Dietrich were her greatfriends. Her personal life waschronicled, husband by husband, in thepress. “We were all mad and in lovewith life and work, and each other,”she wrote in her autobiography,Those Dancing Years (John Murray,1982).Miss Ellis was born May Belle Elsason June 15, 1897, at 131 West 95th Streetin Manhattan. Her name, considered tooGerman sounding, was changed when

she joined the Metropolitan Opera.Her father, who had arrived fromGermany with only a few coins in hispocket, eventually became presidentof Consolidated Paper Mills. Hermother showed promise as a Concert

with Basil Sydney, an Irish matineeidol, in productions that included a long-running modern dress version of TheTaming of the Shrew. They marriedon a whim in 1929.There were professional tensionsbetween the two, some caused by theoffers she received to act in plays andfilms for which her husband was turneddown. They appeared together inmany plays in London until theirmarriage collapsed in a highly publicdivorce. But she was always busywith her own career, including a dealto make three pictures for Paramount.Though her movies, including All theKing’s Horses (1934), wereconsidered mediocre at best, heracting and singing voice drew praise.Graham Greene lamented “the waste ofher sensuous appeal, her Bacchanaliangleam” in that film.She also appeared successfully indramas, like the London production ofStrange Interlude in 1931. But hergreatest fame was in musicals and bythe late 1930’s, she was one of the mostpopular stars of the West End,appearing in shows created byNovello and in costumes by CecilBeaton. Some of the shows Novellowrote for her included GlamorousNight and The Dancing Years,During World War II, Miss Ellisspent three years working as anambulance driver and a practical nurse.She went on to win excellent reviewsfor a string of postwar roles,including a leading part in TerenceRattigan’s hit drama The BrowningVersion.She retired from the stage in 1970but continued to act on television inradio plays. Her last role, in 1994 wasin the Sherlock Holmes television seriesstarring Jeremy Brett.Miss Ellis leaves no immediatesurvivors. Her last husband was JockMuir Stewart Robinson, whom shemarried in 1938 after a hectic courtship.He was an enthusiastic pilot, skier andclimber, and although she hatedmountain climbing willinglyaccompanied him. He died in aclimbing accident in 1950. She nevermarried again.

With thanks to the New York Timessent in by Ken Starrett

(A notable omission is herappearance in After The Ball!)

pianist before her marriage. MissEllis’s parents wanted her to be apainter, but after hearing GeraldineFarrar sing, she once said, “therewas nothing in my mind but opera.”At 18, she signed a four-yearcontract with the Met. She hadimportant roles, including Mityl in thepremiere of Albert Wolff’s Blue Bird.She sang a minor part with EnricoCaruso in one of his lastperformances, in Donizetti’s Elisird’Amore, in Brooklyn in 1920. Againstall advice, she left the Met to act inShakespearean productions onBroadway for the actor and producerDavid Belasco. That work led toRose-Marie, originally about a sweetFrench-Canadian girl and her love fora fur trapper wrongly accused ofmurder. (The Canadian mountie, aminor role in the stage version,became the love interest in themovie, in which he was personifiedby Nelson Eddy). Miss Ellis left theshow after a year to appear in TheDybbuk a dramatic production at theNeighborhood Playhouse on the EastSide, where she happily traded aweekly paycheck of $500 for $10. ArthurHammerstein was furious and forcedher to sign an agreement preventingher from singing for any managementbut his. She never sang onstage inthe United States again.Miss Ellis had already been divorcedtwice when she began appearing

Mary Ellis & Ivor Novello -The Dancing Years

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with your mother.”“That’s right,” replied the navalman. “What a memory you’ve got!”The two men talked for a fewmoments about old times and oldfriends, and Mr. Coward gave hisfriend of childhood days messagesto take home to those who werekind to him when he was an un-known aspirant for stage fame.

Mrs. WorthingtonSong Appreciated By

Theatre Folk“Don’t Put Your Daughter On TheStage Mrs. Worthington,” had amore than ordinary meaning lastnight when Noël Coward sang it,with appropriate gestures, to thecrowd of amateur theatre people atthe Palais Royal. Mr. Coward gavethe song some little extra “push”and his listeners appreciated thepoint with amusement.

Flashing photographers’ lights, acrowd of nurses from the RoyalAdelaide Hospital, and an informalguard of honour of theatre folkgreeted Mr. Coward when hearrived at the Palais, and followedby a throng of admirers, he foundhis way by a roundabout route to theofficial box at the edge of the floor.It took him some time to get fromhis car to the box, for excited youngpeople clustered around him, de-manding autographs and callingwelcomes which he acknowledgedwith his infectious grin.Dancers ignored the music from theband, and clustered round the boxwhere Mr. Coward chatted andsmiled with everyone before goingto the stage for his songs.He soon captured his audience withhis clever acting and singing andmade everybody feel at ease withhis amusing mannerisms and subtletreatment of vocal witticisms.On his return to the official box,

theatre leaders were presented tohim and he chatted with each one,talking of plays and stage matters.A scribbled note from a member ofthe Independent theatre partybrought him on a visit to the boxwhere he was immediately mobbedby autograph hunters from otherparts of the hall.His scarlet carnation wassouvenired by one girl and he signedprogrammes, match boxes, oddscraps of paper and Red Crossfavors for eager young people.From there he went on to the LittleTheatre’s box, where the sameexcited scenes occurred and at theend he had almost to fight his wayback to the official box.

The AdvertiserWed. 11th December 1940

(Our thanks to the Noël CowardAppreciation Society of South Aus-tralia and to Barry Day for this article)

PRESENTLAUGHTERWITH RIK MAYALL

reviewed by Michael Imison

In the second Act of PresentLaughter Henry is puzzled whenhis wife Joanna says she feels as ifshe is in a French farce. He doesnot know, of course, that she is notwhere she claims to be, but speak-ing on an extension telephone fromthe next room, having spent anadulterous night with his best friend,Garry Essendine. Coward is clearlydropping us a hint. In PresentLaughter, more than any other ofhis plays, he deploys all the ele-ments of farce. The ingénue,Daphne, in the first scene, is forcedto trot out her unconvincing expla-nation of why she too has spent thenight under Garry’s roof, to asuccession of increasingly incredu-lous people only to be confrontedwith Garry’s wife, whom she didnot know existed. This is pureFeydeau, a writer whom Cowardadmired and whom he finally paid

the compliment of adapting, turningOccupe Toi D’Amelie into LookAfter Lulu. The coded telephonemessages, spoken within earshot oftheir unsuspecting subject, thesubterfuge Daphne adopts to revisitGarry and deliver another codedmessage, and the piled up coinci-dences of the last Act, where noless than four of the people Garryleast wants to see all separatelybook to sail with him to Africa, aredevices of a sort not to be found inany other Coward play. They are allused with great skill but was hisobjective simply to write a farce?It would be strange if it were so.Present Laughter is also theclosest Coward comes to compos-ing a self-portrait. Like Coward,Garry is an actor at the top of hisprofession who also sings and playsthe piano. Like Coward, he isguarded by a formidable secretaryand surrounded by a close group ofassociates who are also personalfriends. Garry lives in a studio thatis the spitting image of Coward’sthen home, a studio in Gerald Road.Surely then the play deals with

something more personal than thefarcical mechanics of sexual embar-rassment? John Lahr, in his admira-ble study of Coward the Play-wright, sees Garry as a mantrapped into adopting an endlesssuperficial charm, used to avoidcommitment and social responsibil-ity, and he suggests that this wasCoward’s position too. My ownfeeling is that, if this were true,Coward would not have writtenabout it in this way. Despite hisbohemian reputation Coward was astern moralist.In my view he used PresentLaughter to stand the farce con-vention on its head. In Feydeau themain characters all chafe at thebonds of matrimony and are tor-tured by the desire for extramaritalsex , which spells social ruin if itbecomes known. Almost invariablythese desires remain unconsum-mated and a chain of hilariouscircumstances preserves the virtueand reputations of the characters.In other words sex is talked about agreat deal and rarely happens. The

Continued on page 13...Page 10

step to take as time passes, but towatch it occur in someone of soexceptional a talent as Coward issaddening when it is matched byno loss of vitality. Is he, perhaps,too gifted, too manifold? Did thegods who be-stowed on him so lavisha dowry add one mean gift to thepackage: reluctance to examinefrom time to time a set of attitudesand responses which remainunchanged only because they

have been so successful so long?

They add up, however, to a largerattitude which, I think, will endure.I have already quoted Tynan’sname for it: Coward “rompsfastidiously.” He will remain thesymbol of a special quicksilvertemperament; and not atemperament only, but temperamentin harness. Just as Diaghilev andCocteau will be remembered for a

personal quality of life-in-art evenif the kinds of art they created tarnishfor posterity, just as Gershwinmarked an epoch with his ownlegend, so Coward will continue toprovoke curiosity and admiration.

This article is taken from aTheatre Arts Magazine dated1964 and was kindly providedby Ken Starrett

Still Life putslife into Tube

stationBy Jack Malvern, Arts Reporter

The TimesA disused London Undergroundstation has become the latest venuefor enterprising theatre directors.Aldwych station, which has beenclosed to passengers since 1994,will be the setting next month forStill Life the Noël Coward play thatinspired the film Brief Encounter.Theatregoers will be allowed intothe ticket hall of the turn-of-the-century station, whose main useduring recent months has been forthe training of police officers andfirefighters in tackling a chemical orbiological attack on the Tube.The station, whose entrance stillbears its original name of StrandStation, was built on the site of theRoyal Strand Theatre and has hadtheatrical productions staged therebefore. The Actors Touring Com-pany put on a version of Bernard-Marie Koltes’s In the Solitude ofthe Cotton Fields in 2001 and therewas a single operatic performance,but Still Life is the first of a seriesof more popular productions thatwill include Chekhov plays.Rebecca McCutcheon, who willdirect Coward’s story of frustratedlove next month, said that thestation provided the perfect venuefor the play. “The play has threelove stories running through it set ina railway station, one of which was

used in the film Brief Encounters,”she said. “They’re very Englishrelationships,”A second season of plays is sched-uled to take place early next year,consisting of 12 plays by 12 direc-tors Alex Clifton, the organiser, saidthat the plays would be themed tomatch the venue and that tickets

projects here.”The station built in 1898 and openedto the public in 1907, has been usedby a number of universities, includ-ing the University of East London,for displaying art students’ final-year projects. There have also beenfilm screenings, including An Ameri-can Werewolf In London last year

would be priced according toLondon Underground ticket prices.The ticket hall, which contains theoriginal Victorian ceramic tiling willseat up to 70 people. BarryWilkinson, who looks after thestation for London Underground,said that he liked to encouragecreative use of the station. AlightHere, an exhibition of the works of20 emerging artists went on displaylast week. “If the station can beused to help young people with theirart, then London Underground ispleased to open it,” he said. “It istaking off as a theatrical spacenow, but we have had a variety of

and even club nights,although Mr. Wilkinsonhas restricted thenumber. “The problemis that I have to be inattendance,” he said.“And I’m not too keenon late nights.”Aldwych Station hasalso been used as alocation for films,including SlidingDoors and PatriotGames and was usedas a model for the setbuilt at PinewoodStudios for “VauxhallCross” station, the site

of Q’s secret laboratory in the mostrecent Bond film Die AnotherDay. Several advertisements,including a Japanese commercialfor Nike trainers, have been shotthere and the station was includedas a level in the computer gameTomb Raider 3. Other uses includeexperimenting with new technology,such as a new generation of plat-form advertisements that will beprojected on to the station walls.Still Life, will run from April 22 toMay 9. To book call 020 8299 2542Info: www.starfury.demon.co.uk/uground/

Page 8

Noël CowardA Temperament in Harness

by Alan Pryce-Jones

In 1926 the poet J. C. Squire wrotefrom London to his fellow poet,Edmund Blunden: “The theatre isgiven over to a gentleman calledCoward of whom you will not haveheard; he writes more or less smartplays in the 1890 manner.” At thattime Noël Coward, age 27, had beenon the stage for 16 years; his firstappearance was in the year EdwardVII died. Now, four reigns later, hecan look back on some 40 stageproductions, revues, musicals,comedies, several films, severalbooks, some memorable personalcabaret appearances, a whole rangeof much-loved music and a greatmany excellent jokes.The high peak of his reputation wasaround 1930 when, in three years,he wrote This Year of Grace,Bitter Sweet, Private Lives,Cavalcade and Words andMusic. He was barely 30 - tooyoung for what, in those days, lookedto be an inevitable knighthood; he

knew everybody, heseemed in thetheatre ubiquitous.Ten years later hewas a little lessprolific, but as a manof 40 he was thought“serious” enough tobe given animportant war job inParis. And then, forno special reason, inhis 50s he began tofade a little frompublic notice: neverless than a celebrity,never failing todelight an audiencewhen he appearedbefore it, butsomehow acquiringthe name of havingdone very littlesince Blithe Spirit,by then 15 years

whereas in the works of Shaw thereis a preservative hint of the clown.Coward took this hint for himself,as soon as he had passed the yearwhich brought him his first bigsuccess, The Vortex. The year was1924, and the climate of the day was,to say the least, relaxed. It wasthe period of complicated cocktailsand even more complicated loveaffairs, carried on in a fever ofemancipation after World War I.Michael Arlen was workingtoward The Green Hat and F.Scott Fitzgerald (three years olderthan Coward) toward The GreatGatsby. Coward entered the fieldwith a diatribe against narcoticswhich persuaded his elders that atany rate he knew what he wastalking about. The Vortex was asucces de scandale, although theessential realities about Cowardwere already that he worked hardand lived without excess.He was not, however, really aman for moral attitudes. Manyyears later, Kenneth Tynanacutely remarked, in connectionwith the commanding voice ofGodfrey Tearle, that it was “amoral instrument - a preciousattribute for which English dramasince the advent of Coward hasfound less and less use.”For it was not Coward’s role to bea scourge. He might care to jolthis audiences from time to time,but it would be for the good of theirlivers rather than theirconsciences. He found himself tobe a funny man, with a marveloussense of timing and what passedfor a superb sophistication. Borninto a middle-class atmosphere ina suburb of London, he knew byinstinct exactly what the middleclasses would think smart. Again,to quote Tynan, “If it is possible toromp fastidiously, that is whatCoward does.”The consequence was a series ofcomedies which still hold thestage. Hay Fever was not merelya vehicle for the now half-forgotten Marie Tempest; PrivateLives, designed for himself and

old. What exactly has hecontributed to the theatre of thiscentury? It must be rememberedthat Coward’s early successescame at the end of a periodassociated with men like HenryArthur Jones, Arthur Wing Pinero,Somerset Maugham and FrederickLonsdale, among them coveringseveral decades. It was a periodof social comedy and socialdrama, of high life and consciousglamor. Little by little this kind ofplaywriting degenerated into thebrand of comedy which has made theproscenium arch anathema tointellectuals in the theatre: acomedy all French windows andsunlight, all agog with parlormaids,white telephones and elderlyladies in housecoats.Quite apart from this stood thesolitary figure of George BernardShaw, and Coward, in his Londonphase - which lasted until 1945 -must have perceived that animportant element in Shaw’ssuccess was a mixture of highpurpose and self-mockery. Thesocial comedians might mockothers in the name of satire, but theynever laughed at themselves,

Noël Coward (Photograph kindly donated by Donald Smith)

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Gertrude Lawrence, was revivedmany years later forTallulah Bank head and DonaldCook, and was still the most amusingcomedy in New York that season.But he was not only a comedywriter. In 1931, a year of crisis inGreat Britain (like most yearssince), he wrote Cavalcade andset the hearts of the middle classesvibrating to a new rhythm. This wasa sortie from the EdwardianCoward - the Coward who writesTessie O’Shea’s lyrics in The GirlWho Came to Supper.Sentimental it may be - just as it issentimental to respond to militarymusic or cheer a royal wedding -but it met the mood of the moment.Kipling-like jingoism has madeneither sense nor headway in 60years, but what Cowardcontributed was a gentler versionof it, arising from a genuine feeling ofaffinity for the Londoners who firstgave him a name. For a briefspell, Coward was simply a man ofthe people, with the advantage ofbeing wittier, quicker and moretonic than the rest.He was also an exceptionallyricwriter, light composer andpianist. If a Nobel Prize were to begiven for true distinction in thesearts, it would be accorded, perhaps,to only two living practitioners:Cole Porter and Noël Coward.Especially those who have heard himsing his own songs at the piano wouldcheer the award. He isunforgettable: moving very brisklytoward the piano as though theseat were a broncho whichneeded taming, asserting hisstance with a no-nonsense turn of theshoulders - (“It won’t throw me”)-going straight into a Sousa-likeprelude filled with jauntysuggestions of straw hat andbuttonhole and at the same timeunderlining the absurdity of suchcarryings-on, and then abruptly,with face turned full to theaudience, bursting into gravellysong: “Don’t put your daughter onthe stage, Mrs. Worthington.”

It is true that nearly 30 years ago,

George Jean Nathan set his fingeron a weakness in some of theseprocedures: “One is constantlyreading and hearing of Mr. NoëlCoward’s wit.” [In those days hewas Noël not Noël.] “I candiscover, with no effort at all,several amusing little wheezes, butall that I am able to engage in thename of the higher jocosity calledwit is a suave prestidigitation ofwhat is really nothing more thancommonplace vaudeville humor.”And he went on to tear apartDesign for Living in order toprove his point joke by joke andreach the conclusion that “Mr.Coward occupies the successfulplace in our theatre today that thelate Clyde Fitch occupied 20 and 30years ago... . Where are theplays of Fitch now? Where will theplays of Mr. Coward be when asmany years have passed?” Theanswer is that as many yearshave passed, and that the best ofCoward survives with astonishingfreshness. Indeed, Nathan’scomment, though perfectly true, is asirrelevant as to object thatShakespeare drew for his plots onHolinshed. What is important is whatShakespeare - and Coward -make of their chosen material.For the essential thing vaudevillehas given Coward is not jokes butprofessionalism. There has notoften been, in the history of theatre, amore thorough professional.Although he can work extremely fast,he attaches more importance tothoroughness than to inspiration.That is why, in private conversationa month or two back, he wasrecommending Neil Simon’s comedy,Barefoot in the Park: “All theseclever young men ought to go and seeit, if they want to learn how to build afunny play.” And by clever youngmen he means the Weskers, thePinters and the rest. I have sat by himat an Ionesco play, listening to thesteady grumble sotto voce ofsomeone who has come to seehimself in the light of an Old Master,forced to look on while passingfancies like the Theatre of the Absurd

have their day. “They used to say Iwas finished,” Coward mayexclaim. “Now they tell me I’mmarvelous. I always was.” This isnot vanity, but the exasperation ofthe trained old hand when he seesyounger people getting away (as heconceives it) with a lucky shot. CanIonesco act? Does Gelber sing?Could John Osborne write a waltz?Did Wesker direct Chips withEverything? Coward shrugs hisshoulders. He has done, and can do,almost anything in the theatre.At the end of the last war hefound himself, after nearly 40years of experience, still a poorman. Taxation had cut large holes inhis profits and he had made no specialprovision against it. He decided,therefore, to live abroad, first inJamaica and later in Switzerland.However good the financialconsequences of this, it hasundoubtedly hampered his talentby cutting him off from the mainstream of his personal experience.Some English writers flourish outof their own country. It has notaffected Maugham adversely tohave made his home in France forover 40 years: but Coward, whosereach is toward popularity, needsto keep in touch with his ownpeople; he needs to hear theirchanges of speech and inflectionover the years, to follow their newinterests and anxieties fromwithin. As it is, he is an outsideobserver who has made noattempt to keep up to date with ayounger generation. When hewrites a new play it is either, likeLook after Lulu, an adaption ofGeorges Feydeau’s play, or it iscarefully geared to some favoritefacet of the past. Sail Awayshowed the kind of cruise shipwhich has not existed in years.The music for The Girl Who Cameto Supper, charming though it be,is already a period piece. None theworse for that, be it added, but astep back from the keen feeling forcontemporariness with which hefirst made his name. To move fromrebel to conservative is a common