Christopher Luscombe directs this stellar new touring production of Noel Coward’s classic comedy, with Nigel Havers and Patricia Hodges as ex-spouses Elyot and Amanda.
‘Theatrical comfort food’: BLITHE SPIRIT – West End ★★★
Written and premiered in the early 1940s while WW2 raged on and the prospect of losing a precious loved one at short notice felt like a very real possibility, Noël Coward’s ghostly comedy is, perhaps not surprisingly, the first of ‘The Master’s plays to be seen in the West End post-pandemic.
‘This time the thrill was different & unexpected’: BLITHE SPIRIT – Harold Pinter Theatre ★★★★
In Richard Eyre’s briskly directed production Jennifer Saunders stands out. Her Arcati is draggled but not cartoonish: donnishly dishevelled, earnestly scholarly rather than exaggeratedly nuts.
From stage to screen (small & big): The adaptations keep on coming
In the last 30 years or more, roughly half of every new musical that arrives on Broadway or in the West End seems to be based on a film.
‘Full of wit, humour & reminiscence’: A MARVELLOUS PARTY (Online review)
A Marvellous Party, commissioned by the Noël Coward Foundation, ostensibly marks the centenary of Coward’s first appearance on stage and has been produced to raise funds for actors on both sides of the Atlantic who are struggling with the effects of the pandemic.
NEWS: Nigel Havers launches touring company with Private Lives, co-starring Patricia Hodge
Actor Nigel Havers is launching his own touring company with a new production of Noel Coward’s classic comedy Private Lives, in which he’ll star with Patricia Hodge.
‘Guaranteed to occupy your thoughts long after the stage lights dim’: PEACE IN OUR TIME – Union Theatre
A fascinating historical curio, Sasha Regan’s production Peace In Our Time is also a fine piece of speculative drama, imbued with Coward’s gift for eloquence and waspishness.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Blithe Spirit at the Duke of York’s Theatre
Love London Love Culture rounds up the reviews for the London transfer of Richard Eyre’s production of Noel Coward’s comedy Blithe Spirit.
‘Jennifer Saunders’ performance will not disappoint’: BLITHE SPIRIT – Touring & West End
The psychology of Blithe Spirit snaps convincingly into place in Richard Eyre’s production while at the same time it fully utilises every opportunity to make the audience laugh.
‘Saunders triumphs in a role she was surely meant to play’: BLITHE SPIRIT – Touring & West End ★★★★
The pace of the cast members’ dialogue and interaction with each other is almost always spot on in Blithe Spirit.
NEWS: UK tour & West End run announced for Blithe Spirit starring Jennifer Saunders
Noël Coward’s classic comedy Blithe Spirit, directed by Richard Eyre and starring Jennifer Saunders, will return next year for a UK tour followed by a strictly limited six-week engagement at the West End’s Duke of York’s Theatre following a celebrated reception at the Theatre Royal Bath earlier this summer.
‘Clean & crisp’: PRIVATE LIVES – Sonning
Tam Williams’ production of Private Lives at the Mill at Sonning is clean and crisp, nicely framed with a lady accordoniste setting the location, and after a slowish start the piece moves up a gear in the scenes involving all four characters, and especially in two well-choreographed fights.
‘Superb production of Coward’s self-revealing comedy’: PRESENT LAUGHTER – The Old Vic ★★★★
First of all let’s say that Andrew Scott is a marvel in Present Laughter, a 21st century Ur-Coward hero, who manages to do it without either the matey crassness lately inflicted on the part by Rufus Hound, or that retro, clipped Cowardspeak which echoes the Master too much.
‘A revitalised & hysterically funny comedy’: PRESENT LAUGHTER – The Old Vic ★★★★
Noël Coward would have thoroughly approved of Andrew Scott’s gloriously outrageous turn as ageing matinée idol, Garry Essendine, in The Old Vic’s reinvention of Present Laughter.
‘Simply a wonderful night at the theatre’: PRESENT LAUGHTER – The Old Vic
The Old Vic’s production of Present Laughter finally feels as though we’re shaking off some of the restraints that have shackled Noel Coward to the past.
‘A guaranteed crowd pleaser’: BLITHE SPIRIT – Bath ★★★★
It’s is not going to change your life but for a chance to see a national treasure and to wallow away from the pressures of the real world for a couple of hours, Blithe Spirit ticks all the boxes.
‘Saunders is outrageously good but then so are the rest of the cast’: BLITHE SPIRIT – Bath ★★★★
If I could look into Madame Arcati’s crystal ball I think I would see a West End transfer on the cards for Richard Eyre’s playful production of Blithe Spirit.
‘Exuberantly funny, elegant & sharp’: PRIVATE LIVES – Ipswich ★★★★
Exuberantly funny, elegant as a Deauville hotel balcony and sharp as the crack of a 78rpm record over a lover’s head, Joanna Carrick’s witty miniaturised production does Noel Coward’s sparkiest comedy full justice. I say miniature – it’s full length – only because of the venue: the tiny but vigorous home of Red Rose Chain.
NEWS: Andrew Scott will star in Matthew Warchus’ production of Noel Coward’s Present Laughter at The Old Vic
The Old Vic today has announced that Matthew Warchus will direct Andrew Scott in Noёl Coward’s provocative comedy Present Laughter, opening on 25 June 2019, with previews from 17 June. The cast also includes Luke Thallon, Sophie Thompson, Suzie Toase and Indira Varma.
‘Touching, funny & heart-rending’: A SONG AT TWILIGHT – Touring ★★★★
Noël Coward’s A Song at Twilight may be billed as a comedy but this story of one man’s fear of mortality and exposure, is tinged with tragedy. The Theatre Royal Bath’s polished production, which is currently touring the UK, glories in Simon Callow’s exquisite enunciation.