A feast of Coward

THIS is a theatrical marathon of nine short plays by Noel Coward. Not all on one night, but a mix of three triple-bills at matinees and evening performances which should ensure even the most ardent fan gets their fill at this feast.

They haven’t been presented as a complete set since they premiered in London in 1936 and this ambitious experiment from the English Touring Theatre does, in the main, work well.

Coward’s ‘nine’ run the rule over a variety of themes including marital mayhem, facing up to financial ruin, and broken hearts, and when they were last performed together the master starred in them himself.

Eighty years on they are a shade dated but still resonate in the way the issues are dealt with. There’s light and dark in the relationships - amusing one moment, bruising the next.

Opening night provided ‘Dinner’, as you might expect at 8.30, with a playlet trio of Ways and Means, Fumed Oak and Still Life. The other trios check in under ‘Cocktails’ and ‘Dancing’.

Ways and Means was good fun as Kirsty Besterman and Gyuri Sarossy were the couple who found a route out of monetary meltdown via an unlikely burglar, while Fumed Oak was harsh and gripping as Peter Singh’s Mr Gow sent shock waves through his family with his future plans. But the pick of the three was Still Life, which later developed into Brief Encounter.

A couple of the sets were a shade bleak, even bland, which director Blanche McIntyre might be able to address along with urging a little more vibrancy. However, the refreshment room at Milford Junction station hit the spot and came complete with excellent sound effects.

Coward was, in some ways, ahead of his time with his insightful take on life’s ups and downs and these revivals are worth making the effort. What a pity the Festival was less than half-full on opening night as he and an enterprising cast of nine deserved better.