Gareth's Culture and Travel Blog

It’s hard to believe this Noel Coward play is almost a century old. Though the period, settings and costumes are true to the 1920’s / 1930’s, the relationships and behaviours feel way more contemporary. There were gasps from the audience on Friday at some of what was on display.

Once married to each other, Elyot and Amanda have both just got married again, Elyot to a much less feisty Sibyl and Amanda to a more compliant Victor. Both are honeymooning in the South of France, but unfortunately for them in neighbouring rooms in the same hotel, with balconies that virtually touch. Meeting is inevitable. The consequences of this meeting, for Elyot and Amanda, turns out to be regret and it’s no time at all before they’ve ‘eloped’ together to Paris. So far, a classic period comedy.

In the second act Elyot and Amanda revert to the spikiness of the times they were married to one another, but it seems to be something they enjoy, to a point. They resort to both physical and verbal violence in confrontations that could be happening now, let alone almost a century ago, fuelled by alcohol, mutually destructive. When Sybil and Victor catch up with them in the morning, things take a fascinating turn.

One of the problems with the play is that it’s really a two-hander with a couple of other characters along for the ride. I thought Stephen Mangan and Rachael Sterling were both terrific in the lead roles. Sargon Yelda and Laura Carmichael do their best with the supporting roles, but there’s no getting away from the fact their parts are underwritten. Michael Longhurst’s staging of the first act is a bit slow, but the rest has great pace. The amount of smoking on stage, albeit herbal cigarettes and in keeping with the period, was extremely unpleasant, choking me incessantly.

I’ve seen better revivals of this play, but this is a good one nonetheless.