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"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."
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Noel Coward contains previously unpublished musical plays by a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.
Containing Coward's best work from the last two decades of his
life, this volume includes Relative Values, which ran for over a
year in 1951-2, Look After Lulu (1959), his perennially popular
Feydeau adaptation, Waiting in the Wings (1960), a bravura piece
set in a home for retired actresses, and Suite in Three Keys
(1965), a trilogy of plays which gave Coward his last roles on
stage. The volume is introduced by Sheridan Morley, Coward's first
biographer, and includes an extensive chronology of Coward's work.
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
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.
"I will ever be grateful for the almost psychic gift that
enabled me to write "Blithe Spirit" in five days during one of the
darkest years of the war."-Noel Coward.
Written in 1941, "Blithe Spirit" remained the longest-running
comedy in British Theatre for three decades. Plotted around the
central role of one of Coward's best loved characters, a spirit
medium Madame Arcati (originally performed by Margaret Rutherford)
Coward's play is an escapist comedy about a man whose two previous
wives return to haunt him.
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
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.
Noel Coward's Brief Encounter is remembered as one of the most
haunting love stories on screen ever. Drawing on the characteristic
wit and musicality of Kneehigh, Emma Rice, former Joint Artistic
Director of the Company, has adapted Coward's classic 1945
screenplay, and the one-act play Still Life on which it was based,
into a richly theatrical, imaginative and vibrant piece of theatre.
From an original idea by David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers, Kneehigh's
production received its world premiere in 2008. This edition is
published to coincide with the production's run live at the Empire
Cinema in London's West End for 2018, co-produced by Steve and
Jenny Wiener and The Old Vic. With an updated foreword by Emma
Rice. 'Surely the most enchanting work of stagecraft ever inspired
by a movie.' Ben Brantley, The New York Times 'Moving, funny,
gripping and even at its most inventive, true to the original and
its all-English heart' The Times
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.
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
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.
This is a new release of the original 1933 edition.
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
This is a new release of the original 1930 edition.
This is a new release of the original 1930 edition.
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