In 1920, at the age of 20, Coward starred in his own play, the light comedy I'll Leave It to You. After a three-week run in Manchester it opened in London at the New Theatre (renamed the Noël Coward Theatre in 2006), his first full-length play in the West End. [27] Neville Cardus's praise in The Manchester Guardian was grudging. [28] Notices for the London production were mixed, but encouraging. [29] The Observer commented, "Mr Coward... has a sense of comedy, and if he can overcome a tendency to smartness, he will probably produce a good play one of these days." [30] The Times, on the other hand, was enthusiastic: "It is a remarkable piece of work from so young a head – spontaneous, light, and always 'brainy'." [31] Coward in The Knight of the Burning Pestle in 1920 Mander, Raymond; Joe Mitchenson (2000) [1957]. Theatrical Companion to Coward. Barry Day and Sheridan Morley (2000 edition, ed.) (seconded.). London: Oberon Books. ISBN 978-1-84002-054-0. Findlay, Jean (2015). Chasing Lost Time: The Life of C. K. Scott Moncrieff. London: Vintage. ISBN 978-0-09-950708-6.

Alexander Woolcott wrote, "Laura Hope Crews was permitted to give one of the most disastrous performances I have ever seen in all my life". [17] a b c Rebellato, Dan. "Coward, Noël", The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance, Oxford University Press, 2005. Retrieved 5 April 2020 (subscription required) Fourth Street Chekov Theatre / City Center / The New York Public Library Theatre Collection / The Shakespearewrights / The Threepenny Opera (1956)The best-known plays of Coward's middle period, the late 1930s and the 40s, Present Laughter, This Happy Breed and Blithe Spirit are more traditional in construction and less unconventional in content. Coward toured them throughout Britain during the Second World War, and the first and third of them are frequently revived in Britain and the US. [170]

Coward, Noël (2011). Barry Day (ed.). The Complete Verse of Noël Coward. London: Methuen. ISBN 978-1-4081-3174-9. A ‘brilliant, compassionate new play’ (Financial Times) powered by ‘dazzling performances’ (Time Out), don’t miss JohnnyFlynn, MarkGatiss and TuppenceMiddleton as Burton, Gielgud andTaylor. A 1985 production at the Music Box Theatre in New York had a cast including Mia Dillon as Sorel, Robert Joy as Simon, Barbara Bryne as Clara, Rosemary Harris as Judith, Roy Dotrice as David, Campbell Scott as Sandy, Carolyn Seymour as Myra, Charles Kimbrough as Richard, and Deborah Rush. [46] Other [ edit ] His masterpiece Blithe Spirit – which he considered “technically my best piece of writing” – was completed in eight days, in the aftermath of the London bombing. It remains one of the funniest British dramas of its era, hailed by George Orwell as “a devastating satire on spiritualism”. Lean’s 1945 film starred Margaret Rutherford as Madame Arcati, a role taken by Judi Dench in the 2020 remake. Coward’s hilarious mystic has also been portrayed on stage by Beryl Reid, Alison Steadman, Angela Lansbury and Jennifer Saunders.

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Rosemary Harris / Marin Mazzie / Terrence McNally / Sonny Tilders and Creature Technology Company / Jason Michael Webb / Harold Wheeler (2019) The record (1,466 performances) had been held by Charley's Aunt since the 1890s. [82] Blithe Spirit's West End record was overtaken by Boeing Boeing in the 1960s. [83]

Noel Coward's Hay Fever, The Argus, 9 February 1931, p. 13; and "Hay Fever at Tivoli", The Argus, p. 10 The play ran for a month (and was Coward's first play seen in America), [27] after which Coward returned to acting in works by other writers, starring as Ralph in The Knight of the Burning Pestle in Birmingham and then London. [32] He did not enjoy the role, finding Francis Beaumont and his sometime collaborator John Fletcher "two of the dullest Elizabethan writers ever known... I had a very, very long part, but I was very, very bad at it". [33] Nevertheless, The Manchester Guardian thought that Coward got the best out of the role, [34] and The Times called the play "the jolliest thing in London". [35] a b c d e Chothia, Jean. "Coward, Noël", The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature, Oxford University Press, 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2020 (subscription required)Even Cole Lesley's 1976 biography refers to Coward as "Noel": "...I have also forgone the use of his beloved diaeresis over the 'e' in his name, having no wish to dizzy the eye of the reader." [151] An American critic, Burns Mantle, wrote, "why it is called Hay Fever I have not the slightest notion, unless it is because it may give you a headache". [59] He predicted that the play would have little appeal to audiences "beyond the Vanity Fair crowd that has taken up the fascinating Mr Coward with such enthusiasm". [60] Kingston, Jeremy. "Hay Fever at the Rose Theatre, Kingston", The Times, 29 September 2010. (subscription required)

a b Norton, Richard C. "Coward & Novello", Operetta Research Center, 1 September 2007, accessed 29 November 2015 A revival at the Theatre Royal Bath in 2019 was followed by a UK tour and a West End run at the Duke of York's Theatre that opened in March 2020. After 12 performances, it was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The production starred Jennifer Saunders as Madame Arcati and Richard Eyre directed. Geoffrey Streatfeild and Lisa Dillon played Charles and Ruth Condomine, Simon Coates and Lucy Robinson were Dr and Mrs Bradman, Emma Naomi played Elvira and Rose Wardlaw was Edith. Design was by Anthony Ward, lighting by Howard Harrison, sound by John Leonard and illusions by Paul Kieve. [24] [25]Coward, Noël (1994). Plays, Six. Sheridan Morley (introduction). London: Methuen. ISBN 978-0-413-73410-5. The Gibbons family has just moved into 17 Sycamore Road in Clapham in South London. Ethel expresses her relief that her husband Frank has survived army service in World War I and her pleasure at moving into their new home. Their new next-door neighbour, Bob Mitchell, introduces himself. He turns out to be an old army colleague of Frank's, and the two reminisce. While Gielgud and Bogarde told me of their great love and respect for Coward, Carey was more reserved. She kept her counsel, as the great witness to her friend’s pleasures and pains. Above all, it is through her eyes – so constant, in these photographs she collected – that I would like to look again at that time and those people. As Amanda, the star of Coward’s most famous play, says: “I think very few people are completely normal really, deep down in their private lives.” Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 1899–26 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise". [1]