Coward Plays: 9 offers up a fascinating selection of Noel Coward's lesser-known works. Salute to the Brave/Time Remembered (1940) follows Leila Heseldyne after she has fled to America, leaving a war-torn Britain and her husband behind; Long Island Sound(1947) sees a writer coerced into a riotous flock of high flying society people with turbulent results; and Volcano (1957) depicts a volcanic eruption as it punctuates the dubious conduct of six individuals on a fictional South Sea island. This volume also includes Design for Rehearsing (1933) was Coward's private satire on the way he , Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne worked on Design for Living. Age Cannot Wither (1967), Coward's last and unfinished play completes the collection as it portrays the boozy reunion of three women in their sixties, who meet without fail every year to reminisce. Together, these works offer a new and intriguing insight into Coward the playwright and his oeuvre that extends well beyond his most well-known works such as Private Lives, Blithe Spirit and Hay Fever. The volume is introduced by Coward expert and scholar Barry Day.

No one in the twentieth century used language with the same precision and wit as Noel Coward. In his plays, his verse, his song lyrics, stories and in everyday life, he chose his words to uniquely stylish and truthful effect. This affectionate portrait of Coward's life includes not only his best-loved witticisms and lyrics, but also excerpts from private papers and hidden gems from unpublished material. Barry Day Delves into the whole range of Coward's talents, as well as his thoughts on a wide variety of subjects - including the theatre, England, the Arts, religion, love and death - all the while giving insights into the man himself.

This collection brings together three of Coward's most important screenplays - In Which We Serve (1942), Brief Encounter (1945) and The Astonished Heart (1950). The collection features the shooting scripts for each film alongside contextual notes for each play, and a general introduction, by Barry Day. In Which We Serve earned Coward an Academy Honorary Award in 1943 as well as the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film. The film remains a classic of wartime British cinema. Brief Encounter, the most famous screenplay in this collection, is based on Coward's 1936 one-act play Still Life. It remains one of the greatest love stories of all time, coming second in a British Film Institute poll of the top 100 British films. The Astonished Heart tells the story of a psychiatrist's growing obsession for a good-time girl and the resulting tragedy this leads to. This collection features a foreword by Laurence Kardish, Senior Curator Emeritus, Film, at New York's MoMA, and an eight-page black and white plate section of production stills.

Although Noel Coward's work as playwright, songwriter and actor has long been celebrated, his contributions to the British musical have largely been forgotten. Selected Musical Plays by Noel Coward: A Critical Anthology rectifies this omission from the musical theatre landscape, demonstrating how Coward's adaptability, creativity, and myriad of styles is imitated in the incredible musicals he authored. From flop shows at Drury Lane with Mary Martin through to his Broadway hits with Elaine Stritch, this anthology chronicles the variety of styles written by Coward, from revue to musical comedy to operetta. The works in this volume provide a contemporary critical introduction that illustrates the breadth and depth of his work, and highlighting the diverse identities of the collaborators and performers with whom he worked. Though the style of these works varies, they are linked together by his creative thread, and his ability to craft barbed and witty observations of his social world. A timely portrait of Coward's oeuvre and its lasting influence on the wider world of the British musical, Selected Musical Plays by Noel Coward contains previously unpublished musical plays by a central figure in theatre history, collected together with critical apparatus for students, scholars, and fans.

A rich uncle announces he has a terminal illness and plans to leave his estate to one of his sister's children but under one condition. The family scrambles to accommodate his needs and meet the requirements of the inheritance. Mrs. Dermott is a widow and mother of five adult children-Oliver, Evangeline, Sylvia, Bobbie and Joyce. They live together in a large country house that they can no longer afford. The children are stagnant with no careers or future aspirations. Desperate, Mrs. Dermott turns to her brother Daniel for help. Once he arrives, Uncle Daniel declares he's gravely ill and plans to leave his fortune to one of his sister's children. He will bequeath a lucrative inheritance to the niece or nephew who is able to make the most of their life. In an effort to gain his favor, each child embarks on a different career path becoming successful in their own right. This leads to a startling revelation about Uncle Daniel, his wealth and mysterious illness.I'll Leave It to You is a three-act play that's both clever and entertaining. It's one of Noel Coward's earliest and most memorable works. It was written at age 19 and produced the following year in Manchester and London's West End. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of I'll Leave It to You is both modern and readable.

Left a widow with five grown up children, Mrs. Dermot turns to brother Dan for help. Uncle Dan arrives to find an idle family ready to live on his money. He announces that he is doomed to die in three years and that he will leave his money to the member of the family who has made good by then. Each sets to with such determination that Oliver becomes a successful inventor, Evangeline a novelist, Bobbie a composer and Sylvia a film star; even Joyce, finishing her school career, distinguishes herself.6 women, 4 men

Featuring the words and music of Noel Coward. Devised by Gerald Frow, Alan Strachan and Wendy Toye. Chracters: 6 male, 6 femaleRevue style setting.

An immense success in London. An imaginative and innovative presentation of Noel Coward's words, music, sketches, which also shows us something of the man himself. Cowardy Custard contains not only those classic medleys and duets, but also previously unpublished material, snippets of plays and dialogues, material from his autobiographies as background and even a few of his little known poems. The result is a kaleidoscopic glimpse of the Coward achievement.

"More densely packed with entertainment than any that has hit town for a long while."-- Daily Mail, London.

"A whole ravishing feast ... never ceases to amaze."-- Evening Standard, London.

At the centre of his own universe sits matinee idol Garry Essendine: suave, hedonistic and too old, says his wife, to be having numerous affairs. His line in harmless, infatuated debutantes is largely tolerated but playing closer to home is not. Just before he escapes on tour to Africa the full extent of his misdemeanours is discovered. And all hell breaks loose. Noel Coward's Present Laughter premiered in the early years of the Second World War just as such privileged lives were threatened with fundamental social change.

First produced in 1925, "Hay Fever" is technically a masterpiece. A comedy of bad manners which starts with the arrival of four guests, invited independently by different members of the Bliss family for a weekend at their country house near Maidenhead. The promise of an idyllic and peaceful weekend is quickly trounced by the self-absorbed eccentricities of the family who leave the guests to slink away humiliated, embarrassed and abandoned.

""It does not date… it is in the highest mood of fantastic comedy, it is deliciously heartless and therefore delicioiusly alive and fresh" "The Times

Comedy / 4m, 14f / Int. Coward's tribute to theatre is set in a retirement home for actresses, all former stars. Jealousies abound, especially between Lotta and another who was also married to her former husband. A tragedy brings them to their senses and a new solarium brings out everyone's good nature. Lotta chooses to stay with her old friends rather than go live with her son. "Should rejoice those of us who still have hearts." London News Chronicle.

The Complete Verse of Noel Coward brings together the three volumes of verse produced during his lifetime together with previously unpublished material for the very first time. For the legions of fans of The Master, this definitive collection of Coward's verse writings will prove irresistible. 'Throughout most of the years of my life, since approximately 1908, I have derived a considerable amount of private pleasure from writing verse . . . It is an inherent instinct in the English character.' Beginning with his youthful verse experiments, The Complete Verse arranges in themed chapters Coward's prolific public and personal verse writings. Chapters bring together his verse on a wide variety of subjects including war, the theatre, love, friends, travel, and God and the infinite. It features the satirical 'cod-pieces' - Chelsea Buns and Spangled Unicorn - and the verse collected in the 1967 volume Not Yet the Dodo. But alongside these are the verses sent to friends and family over many years, in letters, memos and cables, which paint a vivid portrait of his more private life and are published here for the first time. With a linking commentary by editor Barry Day and sprinkled with illustrations throughout, The Complete Verse offers to Coward readers further enjoyment and appreciation of his wit, insatiable interest in people and skilful rendering of his public and private lives.

"We've stood up - we've lain down - we've concentrated. We've sat interminably while that tiresome old woman recited extremely unflattering verses at us. We're endured five ""seances ""- we've watched her fling herself in and out of trances until we're dizzy, and at the end of it all we find ourselves exactly where we were at the beginning."Researching for his new novel, Charles Condomine invites the implausible medium Madame Arcati to his house for a seance. Whilst consumed in a trance, Madame Arcati unwittingly summons the ghost of Charles's dead wife, Elvira. Appearing only to Charles, Elvira soon makes a play to reclaim her husband, much to the chagrin of Charles's new wife, Ruth. One husband, two feuding wives and a whisper of mischief in the air - who will win in Coward's unworldly comedy?Written in 1941, "Blithe Spirit" remained the longest-running comedy in the history of the British theatre for three decades thereafter. Dealing with relationships on both sides of the grave, it is an enduring classic.A new edition of Coward's classic play ""published to coincide with the 2014 new West End revival at the Gielgud Theatre, starring Angela Lansberry as Madame Arcati."

Edward Churt is a successful painter. His wife Carol has a 'vivid personality composed of a minimum of intellect and a maximum of sex'. Increasingly aware of her infidelity, Edward defends himself with a veneer of sophisticated insouciance. But his best friend and army comrade is determined to avenge him... This Was A Man explores some of Coward's lifelong themes of social mores, jealousy and the futility of a life with no moral compass. Can good manners emasculate us? What happens when we repress our inner caveman? Is it more courageous to look away or to face our demons and fight? What, indeed, does it mean to be a man?3 women, 6 men

This Happy Breed covers twenty years in the life of the Frank and Ethel Bibbons and their children, from the end of World War I to the beginning of World War II. On one level the story is the chronicle of a middle class family. They haven't done well in the years between the wars, but in the face of another conflict, family unity spans the chasm between the generations. At another level, this is the story of England, torn at times by the conflicts of its own progress, but quietly firm in its historical moments of crisis.

At the centre of his own universe sits matinee idol Garry Essendine: suave, hedonistic and too old, says his wife, to be having numerous affairs. His line in harmless, infatuated debutantes is largely tolerated but playing closer to home is not. Just before he escapes on tour to Africa the full extent of his misdemeanours is discovered. And all hell breaks loose. Noel Cowards Present Laughter premiered in the early years of the Second World War just as such privileged lives were threatened with fundamental social change.

The No l Coward musical, Sail Away, tells the story of a romantic love-affair aboard a cruise ship, with all the classic wit and charm of Broadway's golden era. Recent divorcee Mimi Paragon (a role originated by Elaine Stritch) is stuck serving tourists as one of the ship's hostesses when she is drawn to the much younger and strikingly handsome Johnny Van Mier. Complicating their relationship is a host of eccentric and hilarious cruise ship characters-from cynical and quirky Sweeney coup

Hoping for a quiet weekend in the country with some guests, David Bliss, a novelist and his wife Judith, a retired actress, find that an impossible dream when their high-spirited children Simon and Sorel appear with guests of their own. A housefull of drama waits to be ignited as misunderstandings and tempers flare. With Judith's new flame and David's newest literary 'inspiration' keeping company as the children follow suit, the Bliss family lives up to its name as the 'quiet weekend' comes to a

Genre: Comedy Characters: 3 males, 3 females Scenery: Interior Best friends now happily married to others, Julia and Jane both once counted the dashing Frenchman Maurice as their lover. Guess who's back in town and requesting the pleasure of the ladies company? Coward at his inimitable best, the story is a champagne cocktail of wit and charm.

Comedy Chararcters: 5 male, 4 female

Interior set

One of the "Tonight at 8:30" series produced in London and New York. In a bedroom in Mrs. Lloyd Ransome's fabulous villa on the Cote d'Azur are heiress Stella Cartwright and her husband, a gambler. They are plagued by debts and their prolonged stay at the villa is becoming embarrassing when a scandalous chauffeur attempts to rob them and ends up saving their honor.

Characters: 6 male, 5 female

Interior Set

One of the Tonight at 8:30 series, a success in London and New York. The movie Brief Encounter was based on this play. In a suburban rail station, Dr. Harvey removes a cinder from Laura's eye and they fall in love. Subsequent weekly meetings over tea, scenes debating respectability or love, and some sentimental moments transpire before they decide they must part forever. He is accepting a faraway post and she must return to a circumspect life. At their last meeting, a chattering friend swoops down and there is no chance for a final goodbye.

Characters: 4 male, 3 female

Scenery: Interior

One of the Tonight at 8:30 series produced in London and New York. In psychiatrist Christian Faber's drawing room sits his weeping wife and his sad assistants, waiting for the siren Leonora. In four flashbacks the story emerges: Leonora, a girlhood chum, visited Christian's wife and was introduced to him. She set out to capture her friend's husband but was captured herself. She threw him over because of his jealousy. He jumped out of the window. Leonora has come because Christian calls for her on his death bed. She returns slowly from his room to announce he has died and that his last words were tender ones to his wife, for whom he mistook Leonora. Also published in Tonight at 8:30.

Comedy / Characters: 6 male, 3 female

Scenery: Interior

One of the "Tonight At 8:30" series produced in London and New York. Lady Gilpin (Piggie) is so busy with social duties and gossip that she has no time for coherent thinking. She is set aflutter when her drawing room is suddenly filled with her husband's naval conferees, blueprint delivery boys and dumpy Mr. and Mrs. Wadhurst from the Far East, who flighty Piggie mistakes for the Rawlingsons. The Wadhursts overhear intimate phone conversations, are stumbled over, spilled upon and completely ignored before Piggie finally gets it straight.