“One
of Britain’s best and most beloved
playwrights of the 20th Century, Noel
Coward wrote some wonderfully witty
plays that are delightful ‘windows’
on life
— including the short series showcasing
his work that appeared as part of ITV’s
prestigious Play Of The Week in 1964...” FOUR OF THE LEGENDARY NOEL COWARD'S finest plays, featuring as
part of ITV's Play Of The Week in 1964 and directed by Joan Kemp-Welch,
are now available to buy on DVD in the two-disc set A Choice Of Coward.
Joan Kemp-Welch is one of the UK's first female writer-directors and her work
includes plays from Shakespeare, Harold Pinter and Oscar Wilde to passion plays.
The four plays — Present Laughter, Blithe Spirit, The Vortex and
Design For Living — are brilliantly introduced by Noel Coward himself
and benefit from an exceptional cast that includes Peter Wyngarde, James Bolam,
Barbara Murray, Hattie Jacques and Philip Bond.
Coward describes his Present Laughter as "a flagrant example of a star
vehicle" and says that "if I'd ever really cared about press notices I would
have shot myself in the early Twenties!" Luckily he became successful and wrote
Present Laughter with the idea of providing himself with "a bravura part".
The essence of his character is mirrored in his plays that reflect his chosen
sectors of life so brilliantly. Coward's plays have stood the test of time and
provide a glimpse of a bygone age.
Present Laughter revolves around the life and the theatrical friends
of matinee idol Garry Essendine (played perfectly by Peter Wyngarde) who believes
he "belongs to his public and his work". Although still married to estranged
wife Liz (Ursula Howells), Garry is a serial womaniser whose little indiscretions
— the latest of which is the young debutante Daphne (Jennie Linden) —
cause much consternation for his long-suffering PA Monica (Joan Benham).
To complicate matters, his friends also have their own troubles and his housekeeper
Miss Erikson (Ruth Porcher) is a dour Scandinavian Spiritualist instead of the
French chef he would have preferred. When the flighty Joanna (Barbara Murray),
who is married to Gary's friend Henry (Edwin Apps) but who has an admirer in
Maurice (Danvers Walker), and oddball Roland Maule (James Bolan) turn up at
Garry's apartment, a delightful little comedy of errors ensues. Maybe they should
all just go with Garry on his planned trip to Africa!
Adapted for television by Peter Wildeblood and Directed by Joan Kemp-Welch,
Present Laughter also features the charming Jane Eccles as Lady Saltburn.
As Noel Coward introduces one of my favourite plays, Blithe Spirit, he
mentions that he "will always be grateful for the almost psychic gift that enabled
him to write Blithe Spirit in just five days in one of the darkest years
of the war". Fun and innovative, this lovely play features the wonderful Hattie
Jacques as the eccentric medium Madame Arcati.
Charles Condomine (Griffith Jones) bites off a bit more than he can chew in
Blithe Spirit when he invites local Spiritualist Madame Arcati to join him,
his second wife Ruth (Helen Cherry) and their two friends Dr George Bradman
(Edward Jewesbury) and his wife (Coral Fairweather) at dinner before holding
a séance.
Charles is after some inspiration for a novel he is writing about a homicidal
Spiritualist and is convinced that Madame Arcati is a fraud, but during the
séance the ghost of his dead mischievous first wife Elvira (Joanna Dunham) puts
in an appearance, having been summoned by the medium's 'control', Daphne —
with hilarious results.
Blithe Spirit also features Ursula Hirst as the dotty Edith. Music is
by Noel Coward; Adapted for television by Gerald Savory; Directed by Joan Kemp-Welch.
The Vortex was written by Coward in 1924 and is a complex exploration
of the relationship between a mother — the once-beautiful Florence Lancaster
(Margaret Johnston), who lives in the past and is a serial adulterer with a
string of lovers half her age — and her drug-fuelled, effete son who is
trying to come to terms with his own sexuality. The play also features Philip
Bond, Tom Gill and Tony Bateman.
Written in 1932, Design For Living looks at the complicated three-way
relationship between Gilda, Otto and Leo. Although she has been entangled with
Otto and then Leo, Gilda finally marries Ernest. But is she truly happy and
will she ever forget the other men? Design For Living features Jill Bennett,
Daniel Massey and John Wood.
Noel Coward is as magnificent as he is the epitome of Britishness and the wonderful
plays chosen for A Choice Of Coward reflect perfectly his powers of observations
and a wickedly dry sense of humour. First class.
• A Choice Of Coward is released by
Network DVD on 18 January 2010. Certificate: PG | RRP: £19.99 | Total Running
Time: 345 Minutes Approximately.
"Noel Coward is as magnificent as he is the epitome of Britishness and the wonderful
plays chosen for A Choice Of Coward reflect perfectly his powers of observations
and a wickedly dry sense of humour. First class" — Maggie Woods, MotorBar
“One
of Britain’s best and most beloved