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85-525: Private Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward . It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realise that they still have feelings for each other. Its second act love scene was nearly censored in Britain as too risqué. Coward wrote one of his most popular songs, " Someday I'll Find You ", for

170-464: A Tony Award for her performance), with David Glover as Victor and Suzanne Grossman as Sibyl, opened at Broadway's Billy Rose Theatre and then moved to the Broadhurst Theatre to complete its run of 198 performances. The last major revival during Coward's lifetime was at London's Queen's Theatre in 1972. It was directed by John Gielgud and starred Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens . During

255-602: A French translation, Joyeux Chagrins , with the central character renamed Max Aramont. The production toured, beginning in Brussels, before opening at the Théâtre Édouard VII in Paris in 1948. In September 1996 a new French adaptation, titled Bagatelle was presented at the Théâtre de Paris , starring Michel Sardou in the lead role, now named Jean Delecour. In September 1956 the BBC broadcast

340-503: A business trip abroad, and Garry privately interrogates Morris, who denies that he is having an affair with Joanna. Garry telephones Liz to reassure her. Garry, alone in the flat, answers the doorbell to find Joanna. She claims (like Daphne in Act I) to have forgotten her own door key and asks Garry to accommodate her in his spare room. He correctly suspects her motives, but after much skirmishing allows himself to be seduced. Joanna emerges from

425-523: A combined attack of laryngitis and nervous exhaustion . Coward appeared at five performances with her understudy, and then closed the production for two weeks to allow Lawrence to recuperate. She returned, and the two continued in their roles until 9 May 1931. The production ran a total of 256 performances. The first West End revival was at the Apollo Theatre in 1944 starring John Clements and Kay Hammond . Googie Withers took over as Amanda during

510-577: A device that he also used in Private Lives , Hay Fever and Blithe Spirit . In the 1970s the director Peter Hall wrote, "what a wonderful play it would be if – as Coward must have wanted – all those love affairs were about homosexuals". Whether or not Coward would have agreed, in the 1940s the transformation of real-life gay relationships into onstage straight ones was essential. The play nevertheless contains many references to Coward's own life. Monica

595-557: A light French comedy to an auditorium that looks like a Gothic edition of Wembley Stadium ." When that row has blown itself out, it is business as usual and Henry and Morris leave in good humour. Liz pours Garry a brandy and tells him she is not only going to Africa with him but is coming back to him for good. Garry suddenly remembers Daphne and Roland lurking in the adjoining rooms and tells Liz: "You're not coming back to me... I'm coming back to you", and they tiptoe out. The play has been regularly revived. Coward directed and starred in

680-492: A point of fury, as Amanda breaks a record over Elyot's head, and he retaliates by slapping her face. They seem to be trapped in a repeating cycle of love and hate as their private passions and jealousies consume them. At the height of their biggest fight, Sibyl and Victor walk in. The next morning, Amanda tries to sneak away early, but is surprised to find Sibyl and Victor there. As they talk, Elyot comes in, and he and Amanda start bickering again. It has been decided that neither of

765-496: A radio adaptation starring Paul Scofield and Patricia Routledge on 20 December 1975. In January 2010, BBC Radio 4 broadcast another adaptation of the play directed by Sally Avens, starring Helena Bonham Carter as Amanda and Bill Nighy as Elyot. When Private Lives premiered, the various awards now given for achievement in musical theatre, such as the Olivier Awards and Tony Awards , had not yet been created, and therefore

850-463: A radio production with John Gielgud as Garry, Nora Swinburne as Liz and Mary Wimbush as Joanna. In 1974, Paul Scofield played the lead role for the BBC, with Fenella Fielding as Joanna, Patricia Routledge as Monica, Miriam Margolyes as Daphne, and Joy Parker (Scofield's real wife) as Liz. In April 2013, a radio adaptation was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 , starring Samuel West as Garry. As part of

935-467: A sexual relationship between two women, one of whom has her eye on yet another young woman (who never appears, but who is the target of a seduction scheme). Periodically, the two women make their serving woman the butt of haughty jokes, serving to point up the satire on class. Though displaying the verbal dexterity one associates with both the playwright and the genre, the patina of wit occasionally erupts into shocking crudity. Comedies of manners have been

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1020-529: A somewhat Judeo-English accent). Harold Pinter's play The Homecoming has been described as a mid-twentieth-century "comedy of manners". Other more recent examples include Kazuo Ishiguro 's The Remains of the Day , Barbara Pym 's Excellent Women , Douglas Carter Beane 's As Bees in Honey Drown , The Country Club , and The Little Dog Laughed . In Boston Marriage (1999), David Mamet chronicles

1105-618: A staple of British film and television. The Carry On films are a direct descendant of the comedy of manners style, and elements of the style can be found in The Beatles ' films A Hard Day's Night and Help! . Television series by David Croft in collaboration with Jimmy Perry ( Dad's Army ) and with Jeremy Lloyd ( Are You Being Served? ) might also be considered examples of the genre. Television series such as George and Mildred , Absolutely Fabulous , The Young Ones , and The League of Gentlemen also contain many elements of

1190-471: A touring commitment in Africa. Amid a series of events bordering on farce , Garry has to deal with women who want to seduce him, placate both his long-suffering secretary and his wife, cope with a crazed young playwright, and overcome his impending mid-life crisis (he has recently turned forty). The character is a caricature of the author's real-life persona, as Coward acknowledged. Coward starred as Garry during

1275-539: A volatile three-year-long marriage, have been divorced for the past five years, but they now discover that they are sharing a terrace while on their honeymoons with their new and younger spouses. Elyot and Amanda separately beg their new spouses to leave the hotel with them immediately, but both new spouses refuse to co-operate and each storms off to dine alone. Realising they still love each other and regretting having divorced, Elyot and Amanda abandon their spouses and run off together to Amanda's flat in Paris. After dinner at

1360-633: A young admirer of the actor Garry Essendine, has inveigled herself into the flat and has spent the night there. Garry is still asleep, and while waiting for him to wake, Daphne encounters in turn three of his employees: the housekeeper (Miss Erikson), valet (Fred), and secretary (Monica). None of them display any surprise at her presence. Garry finally wakes and with practised smoothness ushers Daphne out. Liz Essendine, who left Garry years ago, nevertheless remains part of his tightly-knit 'family' along with Monica and his manager, Morris Dixon, and producer, Henry Lyppiatt. Liz tells Garry that she suspects that Morris

1445-430: Is "unmistakably Lorn Loraine", Coward's long-serving and much-loved secretary. Morris has been seen as Coward's agent and sometime lover Jack Wilson , and Henry as Binkie Beaumont . Liz, played originally by Joyce Carey, is thought to be based partly on the actress herself, who was a member of Coward's inner circle. The notices for the first production were excellent. The Observer commented, "Mr Coward's production

1530-428: Is entranced, and Garry is apoplectic. A week later, on the eve of Garry's departure on tour in Africa, he is once more alone in the flat. The doorbell rings and Daphne enters saying she has a ticket to sail with him to Africa. The doorbell rings again, and Daphne retreats to an adjoining room. The new caller is Roland, who announces that he too has a ticket for the voyage to Africa. Garry tries to get him to leave, but as

1615-478: Is having an affair with Henry's glamorous wife Joanna, and is concerned that this might break up the family. Their discussion is interrupted by the arrival of Roland Maule, an aspiring young playwright from Uckfield , whose play Garry has rashly agreed to critique. Liz leaves, and Roland rapidly becomes obsessively fascinated by Garry, who gets him off the premises as quickly as he can. Morris and Henry arrive and discuss theatrical business with Garry. Henry leaves for

1700-714: Is one of Coward's four great comedies of manners, along with Hay Fever , Private Lives and Blithe Spirit . It presents a masterly, exaggerated picture not only of the playwright but of his whole household, his court, his admirers, his lifestyle and his era." Brantley observed in The New York Times in 1995, "Yes, Coward was a terrible snob, and there is a certain smugness about Present Laughter that it's best not to examine too closely", but, "The sneaking wisdom of Present Laughter lies in its suggestion that actorly exaggeration and inner honesty are not mutually exclusive." In 1998 John Peter said that despite its period setting

1785-455: Is really desolating." When the text was published, The Times called it "unreadable", and The Times Literary Supplement found it "inexpressibly tedious" in print but acknowledged that its effectiveness on stage was "proved by the delight of a theatrical audience." T. E. Lawrence , however, wrote, "The play reads astonishingly well ... superb prose." The editor of The Gramophone greeted Coward and Lawrence's 1930 recording of scenes from

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1870-449: Is so inventive, and his own performance so adroit in its mockery of the vain, posturing, and yet self-scrutinising and self-amused matinee idol, that Present Laughter is likely to be future mirth for as long as Mr Coward cares to run it." The Manchester Guardian added, "One is tempted to cast discretion to the winds and predict that this will be remembered as the best comedy of its kind and generation ... one of those rare occasions when

1955-588: The Play of the Week series in August 1964 four Coward plays directed and produced by Joan Kemp-Welch were transmitted on ITV , including Present Laughter , with Peter Wyngarde as Garry Essendine, Ursula Howells as Liz, Barbara Murray as Joanna and James Bolam as Roland Maule. In 1967 ITV broadcast a production starring Peter O'Toole as Garry, with Honor Blackman as Liz. The 1981 West End production starring Donald Sinden

2040-650: The Duke of York's Theatre . The West End producer wanted to cast established stars in the transfer, but Coward insisted that the young Hampstead cast should be retained. It ran in the West End for 212 performances. A May 1968 Off-Broadway production directed by Charles Nelson Reilly starred Elaine Stritch as Amanda, and ran for nine performances at the Theatre de Lys . A 1969 production, directed by Stephen Porter and starring Brian Bedford as Elyot and Tammy Grimes as Amanda (winning

2125-638: The Greenwich Theatre transferred to the Duchess Theatre in the West End. It starred Michael Jayston and Maria Aitken , and it was directed by Alan Strachan. Elizabeth Taylor as Amanda and Richard Burton as Elyot were the headliners in a highly anticipated 1983 Broadway production directed by Milton Katselas , which opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in May 1983 following a pre-Broadway run at

2210-588: The Music Box Theatre from 6 November, with an official opening on 17 November. Simon Paisley Day played Victor, and Anna Madeley played Sibyl. The production closed early, on 31 December 2011. A production ran at the Chichester Festival Theatre from 28 September (previews from 21 September) to 27 October 2012, starring Anna Chancellor as Amanda and Toby Stephens as Elyot, with Anthony Calf as Victor and Anna-Louise Plowman as Sibyl. It

2295-473: The Renaissance . In the 17th century, the comedy of manners is best realised in the plays of Molière , such as The School for Wives (1662), The Imposter (1664), and The Misanthrope (1666), which satirise the hypocrisies and pretensions of the ancien régime that ruled France from the late 15th century to the 18th century. The comedy of manners has been employed by Roman satirists since as early as

2380-1017: The Richard Rodgers Theatre in 2002. It won the Tony Award for Best Revival, while Duncan won for Leading Actress and Hatley won for sets. In 2009 at its new home, the Hampstead Theatre presented a revival directed by Lucy Bailey, with Jasper Britton as Elyot and Claire Price as Amanda. A 2010 revival at the Vaudeville Theatre in London was directed by Richard Eyre and starred Matthew Macfadyen as Elyot and Kim Cattrall as Amanda. The ten-week limited season ran from February to May 2010. This production then moved to North America, starring Cattrall and Paul Gross . It had tryouts in Toronto from 16 September to 30 October 2011 and played on Broadway at

2465-638: The Second World War began while it was in rehearsal, and the British theatres closed. The title is drawn from a song in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night that urges carpe diem ("present mirth hath present laughter"). The play has been frequently revived in Britain, the US and beyond. The plot depicts a few days in the life of the successful and self-obsessed light comedy actor Garry Essendine as he prepares to travel for

2550-531: The Times Square Theatre on 27 January 1931 with Coward, Lawrence and Olivier reprising their roles and Jill Esmond , who had married Olivier a few months earlier, as Sibyl. Walter Winchell described the production as "something to go quite silly over." The New York critics were enthusiastic about the play and Coward's performance. A few weeks before Coward and Lawrence were scheduled to be replaced by Otto Kruger and Madge Kennedy , Lawrence collapsed with

2635-408: The theatre of the absurd . In a 1984 article, Archie J. Loss argues that nothing can ever happen in the relationship of Elyot and Amanda, because it is based on conflicting emotions: "they are bound to repeat themselves, playing out their scene again and again with different words and different props but always with the same result." In a 2000 study of Coward, Jean Chothia instances surreal exchanges in

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2720-557: The 1975 production, Maggie Smith was nominated for both the Tony and the Drama Desk Awards. The 2001 London production won three Olivier Awards out of seven nominations, for Lindsay Duncan as Amanda and the set designs by Tim Hatley and costumes by Jenny Beavan. On Broadway in 2002, the same production won three Tonys out of five nominations, including Best Revival , Best Actress (Duncan) and Best Scenic Design (Hatley). It also won

2805-657: The 2019 Old Vic production, a critic in The Hollywood Reporter noted that "beneath the frantic surface is a subtle depiction of a man trapped by fame and his own image. ... Garry ... eagerly milks melodrama, hammily proclaiming his misfortunes, namely of being in perpetual service to his entourage. And having "acted" for so long offstage, he's reached the point where no one is willing to believe him when trying to be himself." Another, in The Financial Times , remarked that Garry's "susceptibility to flattery stems from

2890-457: The Paris flat several days later, Elyot and Amanda use their code word "Solomon Isaacs", soon abbreviated to "Sollocks", to stop their arguments from getting out of hand. They kiss passionately, but the harmony cannot last: while Elyot and Amanda cannot live without each other, neither can they live with each other. They argue violently and try to outwit each other, just as they had done during their stormy marriage. Their ongoing argument escalates to

2975-978: The Shubert Theatre in Boston in April 1983. It co-starred John Cullum as Victor and Kathryn Walker as Sibyl and ran for 63 performances. After closing on Broadway, this production toured to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in August and September 1983, the Shubert Theatre , Chicago in September, and the Wilshire Theatre , Los Angeles in October 1983. In 1990, a revival at London's Aldwych Theatre , starring Keith Baxter and Joan Collins , directed by Tim Luscombe,

3060-418: The characters unrealistic, though "None the less, for a couple of hours they are delicious company when Mr. Coward is master of unceremonious ceremonies." The New Statesman discerned a sad side to the play in its story of a couple who can live neither with nor without each other: "It is not the least of Mr. Coward's achievements that he has ... disguised the grimness of his play and that his conception of love

3145-512: The corresponding three Drama Desk awards, out of seven nominations. Comedy of manners The comedy-of-manners genre originated in the New Comedy period (325–260 BC) of Classical Greece (510–323 BC), and is known from fragments of works by the playwright Menander , whose style of writing, elaborate plots, and stock characters were imitated by Roman playwrights , such as Plautus and Terence , whose comedies were known to and staged during

3230-578: The critic must claim the privilege of his fellow-playgoers, simply to marvel, admire, and enjoy wholeheartedly." When Coward brought the play back to the Haymarket in 1947, The Times praised it as "a wittily impudent and neatly invented burlesque of a French farce." When it was first seen in the West End without Coward, in 1959, The Times commented, "plays as funny as this are no longer being written in England." In 1993 Ned Sherrin wrote, " Present Laughter

3315-416: The details of Morris and Joanna's affair, and Henry's extramarital adventures. Joanna angrily slaps Garry's face and leaves for good. Her departure goes unnoticed because Garry, Henry and Morris have become embroiled in what for them is a much more serious row when it emerges that Henry and Morris have committed Garry to appear at what he considers a shockingly unsuitable theatre. Garry objects: "I will not play

3400-430: The doorbell rings a third time Roland bolts into the spare room and locks the door. The third caller is Joanna, who has also bought a ticket for the Africa voyage and has written a letter to Henry and Morris telling them everything. Liz arrives and saves the tottering situation, announcing that she too is travelling to Africa. Henry and Morris arrive and berate Garry for his night with Joanna. Garry fights back by revealing

3485-471: The first West End revival, in 1947. It ran for 528 performances; Carey once again played Liz, Moira Lister played Joanna, and Robert Eddison played Roland. Coward handed on the lead role to Hugh Sinclair in July 1947. The first West End revival after that was in 1965, with Nigel Patrick as Garry. Notable successors in the role of Garry include Albert Finney (1977), Peter O'Toole (1978), who also played

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3570-452: The first century BC. Horace 's Satire 1.9 is a prominent example, in which the persona is unable to express his wish for his companion to leave, but instead subtly implies so through wit. William Shakespeare 's Much Ado about Nothing might be considered the first comedy of manners In England , but the genre really flourished during the Restoration period. Restoration comedy , which

3655-455: The flustered arrivals and departures of Morris and Henry, Roland's pursuit of Garry, and the arrival of a Lady Saltburn, to whose niece Garry has promised an audition. The niece turns out to be Daphne Stillington, who recites the same Percy Bysshe Shelley poem, "We Meet Not as We Parted", with which he bade her farewell in Act I. Joanna flounces out from the spare room, Daphne faints with horror, Roland

3740-618: The form. The tradition of elaborate, artificial plotting, and epigrammatic dialogue was carried on by the Irish playwright Oscar Wilde in Lady Windermere's Fan (1892) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). In the 20th century, the comedy of manners reappeared in the plays of the British dramatists Noël Coward ( Hay Fever , 1925) and Somerset Maugham . Other early twentieth-century examples of comedies of manners include George Bernard Shaw 's 1913 play Pygmalion (later adapted into

3825-514: The genre. Though less common as a genre in American television, series such as Frasier , King of the Hill , Ugly Betty , Soap , and The Nanny are also comedies of manners. Larry David 's Curb Your Enthusiasm has also been described as a comedy of manners. Present Laughter Present Laughter is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1939 but not produced until 1942 because

3910-600: The harshness and darker side of the play; it starred Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan , directed by Howard Davies at the Albery Theatre (subsequently renamed the Noël Coward Theatre ). Duncan won the Olivier Award for her performance, Tim Hatley won for his set designs, and Jenny Beavan won for costumes. A Broadway transfer of Davies's West End production, starring Rickman and Duncan, ran for 127 performances at

3995-466: The lead characters: "We've got to have two people as attractive as Larry and Adrianne were in the first place, if we can find them." Rehearsals were still underway when the Lord Chamberlain took exception to the second act's love scene, labelling it too risqué in light of the fact the characters were divorced and married to others. Coward went to St. James's Palace to plead his case by acting out

4080-927: The lead roles as much older than in previous productions, which was initially met with scepticism. However, the change was received well by audiences and the tour broke several box-office records before ending in Nottingham in April 2022. This production transferred to the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End from 31 August to 25 November 2023. Another revival ran at the Donmar Warehouse in London from 7 April to 27 May 2023. The production starred Stephen Mangan , Rachael Stirling , Laura Carmichael and Sargon Yelda. The original production received mixed reviews. Coward later wrote, "The critics described Private Lives variously as 'tenuous, thin, brittle, gossamer, iridescent, and delightfully daring'. All of which connoted in

4165-457: The leading characters' portrayal as equals is evidence in support of this theory, Farfan instances the famous image (shown above) of Coward and Lawrence as Elyot and Amanda smoking and "posing as mirror opposites". Coward himself pronounced the play "psychologically unstable", and John Lahr in a 1982 study of Coward's plays writes, "Elyot and Amanda's outrageousness is used to propound the aesthetics of high camp – an essentially homosexual view of

4250-453: The musical My Fair Lady ), E. M. Forster 's A Room with a View , and the Jeeves and Wooster stories of P. G. Wodehouse . The term comedy of menace , which British drama critic Irving Wardle based on the subtitle of The Lunatic View: A Comedy of Menace (1958), by David Campton , is a jocular play-on-words derived from the "comedy of manners" ( menace being manners pronounced with

4335-445: The new spouses will grant a divorce for a year, to give Amanda and Elyot time to confirm if this is really what they want. As tempers rise, Sibyl and Victor begin to bicker with each other, defending their respective spouses. Amanda and Elyot realise that Sibyl and Victor are as suited to each other as they are, forgive one another and sneak out, leaving the younger two together. As Elyot and Amanda tiptoe out, Victor and Sibyl have reached

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4420-494: The only thing that was going to be fixed was her performance." Lawrence was indecisive about what to do about her previous commitment to André Charlot . Coward finally responded that he planned to cast the play with another actress. By the time he returned to London, he found Lawrence not only had cleared her schedule but was staying at Edward Molyneux 's villa in Cap-d'Ail in southeastern France learning her lines. Coward joined her, and

4505-614: The original productions of the play received no such awards. The first Broadway production of Private Lives to receive major theatre awards was the 1969 production, for which Tammy Grimes won both the Tony Award for Leading Actress in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress during the 1970 awards season. Brian Bedford won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor . Sara Crowe won an Olivier Award for her performance as Sibyl in 1991. For her performance as Amanda in

4590-750: The original run, which began with a long provincial tour to accommodate wartime audiences. He reprised the role in the first British revival and later in the United States and Paris. Subsequent productions have featured Albert Finney , Peter O'Toole , Donald Sinden , Ian McKellen , Simon Callow and Andrew Scott , and in the United States Clifton Webb , Douglas Fairbanks Jr. , George C. Scott , Frank Langella and Kevin Kline . In April and May 1939 Coward wrote two contrasting comedies, both with titles drawn from Shakespeare . One, This Happy Breed ,

4675-551: The outbreak of war and 1942 Coward worked for the British government, first in its Paris propaganda office and then for the secret service. In 1942 the prime minister, Winston Churchill , told Coward that he would do more good for the war effort by entertaining the troops and the home front: "Go and sing to them when the guns are firing – that's your job!" Though disappointed, Coward followed this advice. He toured, acted and sang indefatigably in Europe, Africa and Asia. Present Laughter

4760-413: The paper boat, ever in imminent danger of becoming a shapeless, sodden mass." The Manchester Guardian commented, "The audience evidently found it a good entertainment, but Mr. Coward certainly had not flattered our intelligence. The play appears to be based on the theory that anything will do provided it be neatly done." The Observer also thought that the play depended on brilliant acting and thought

4845-470: The play as a success and added, "I wish that Noel Coward would find time to write a short play for the gramophone, for neither of these extracts has enough completeness to bear indefinite repetition." A famous scene has Amanda and Elyot discuss Elyot's voyage to Asia, with questions on how China was ( "Very big" ) and "how was the Taj Mahal ?" ( "Unbelievable, a sort of dream" ). Private Lives has been

4930-407: The play by Orson Welles for The Campbell Playhouse . Guest star Gertrude Lawrence reprised her stage role as Amanda, and Welles played Elyot. Naomi Campbell and Robert Speaight played Sibyl and Victor. On British television, Peter Gray and Maxine Audley starred in a 1959 presentation, and Alec McCowen and Penelope Keith took the leads in a BBC production in 1976. BBC Radio 4 broadcast

5015-579: The play himself and assuring the censor that with artful direction the scene would be presented in a dignified and unobjectionable manner. Coward repeats one of his signature theatrical devices at the end of the play, where the main characters tiptoe out as the curtain falls – a device that he also used in Present Laughter , Hay Fever and Blithe Spirit . The play contains one of Coward's most popular songs, "Some Day I'll Find You". The Noël Coward Society's website, drawing on performing statistics from

5100-406: The play was completed in six days. He described it as "a very light comedy ... written with the sensible object of providing me with a bravura part". He planned to appear in both the new plays in the autumn of 1939, and they were in rehearsal for a pre-London tour when the Second World War began on 2 September; all theatres were closed by government order, and the production was shelved. Between

5185-516: The play was timeless, and commented, "As in all the greatest comedies in the language, those of Shakespeare, Congreve and Wilde , the wit is both in the situations and the language." Reviewing the 2016 revival starring Samuel West, Lyn Gardner , in The Guardian , found the play "deeply unpleasant ... misogynistic and snobbish". Two years later the same paper's chief drama critic, Michael Billington , called it an "imperishable comedy". Reviewing

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5270-603: The play, such as: "Have you ever crossed the Sahara on a camel?" "Frequently. When I was a boy we used to do it all the time. My Grandmother had a wonderful seat on a camel." Hanns Kräly and Richard Schayer wrote the screenplay for a 1931 film adaptation directed by Sidney Franklin and starring Norma Shearer as Amanda and Robert Montgomery as Elyot. Una Merkel and Reginald Denny played Sibyl and Victor. The film received mixed reviews. Coward thought it "passable." On 21 April 1939, CBS Radio aired an hour-long adaptation of

5355-848: The play. After touring the British provinces, the play opened the new Phoenix Theatre in London in 1930, starring Coward, Gertrude Lawrence , Adrianne Allen and Laurence Olivier . A Broadway production followed in 1931, and the play has been revived at least a half-dozen times each in the West End and on Broadway. The leading roles have attracted a wide range of actors; among those who have succeeded Coward as Elyot are Robert Stephens , Richard Burton , Alan Rickman and Matthew Macfadyen , and successors to Lawrence as Amanda have included Tallulah Bankhead , Elizabeth Taylor , Joan Collins , Elaine Stritch , Maggie Smith , Penelope Keith and Lindsay Duncan . Directors of new productions have included John Gielgud , Howard Davies and Richard Eyre . The play

5440-561: The play. After spending a few more weeks revising it, he typed the final draft in The Cathay Hotel in Shanghai and sent copies to Lawrence and his producer and manager, John C. Wilson , with instructions to cable him with their reactions. Coward received no fewer than 30 telegrams from Lawrence about the play. She first said that she had read the play and there was "nothing wrong with it that can't be fixed." Coward "wired back curtly that

5525-528: The point of mutual violence. Produced by C. B. Cochran , the play premiered on 18 August 1930, at the King's Theatre in Edinburgh , directed by Coward and starring Coward as Elyot, Gertrude Lawrence as Amanda, Laurence Olivier as Victor and Adrianne Allen as Sibyl. Sets and costumes were designed by Gladys Calthrop . After successfully touring Liverpool , Birmingham , Manchester and Southsea for five weeks,

5610-561: The production "with my heart in my boots and was very pleasantly surprised ... her (Bankhead's) vitality was amazing, and, strange to say, she played the love scene quite beautifully." In 1963, at the start of what Coward called "Dad's Renaissance", a London revival directed by James Roose-Evans at the Hampstead Theatre Club heralded Coward's return to critical favour. The success of the production, with Edward de Souza as Elyot and Rosemary Martin as Amanda, led to its transfer to

5695-572: The production opened the new Phoenix Theatre in London on 24 September 1930. A week after the play opened, Heinemann published the text; a week later, HMV issued recordings of scenes from the play performed by Coward and Lawrence. Coward disliked appearing in long runs, and the London run was therefore a limited three-month season. It sold out within a week and was still playing to packed houses when, despite "the gratifying knowledge that we could have run on for another six [months]," it ended on 20 December 1930. The first Broadway production opened at

5780-411: The public mind cocktails, repartee and irreverent allusions to copulation, thereby causing a gratifying number of respectable people to queue up at the box office." The Times wrote, "What an entertaining play it is!", but wondered if any other performers could bring it off. Allardyce Nicoll called it "amusing, no doubt, yet hardly moving farther below the surface than a paper boat in a bathtub and, like

5865-599: The publishers and the Performing Rights Society , ranks it among Coward's ten most performed songs. Following a brief courtship, Elyot and Sibyl are honeymooning at a hotel in Deauville , France, although her curiosity about his first marriage is not helping his romantic mood. In the adjoining suite, Amanda and Victor are starting their new life together, although he cannot stop thinking of the cruelty Amanda's ex-husband displayed towards her. Elyot and Amanda, following

5950-569: The role in a production at the Kennedy Center , Washington, D.C., in the same year, Donald Sinden (1981), Tom Conti (1993), Peter Bowles (1996), Ian McKellen (1998), Rik Mayall (2003), and Simon Callow (2006). The National Theatre revived the play in 2007 and 2008 with Alex Jennings as Garry. More recent Garrys have included Samuel West ( Theatre Royal, Bath , 2016), Rufus Hound ( Chichester Festival Theatre , 2018), and Andrew Scott ( Old Vic , 2019). Present Laughter

6035-415: The run of the production, John Standing took over as Elyot, and Jill Bennett was a replacement as Amanda. Gielgud directed a 1975 Broadway transfer of his production, starring Maggie Smith and John Standing at the 46th Street Theatre , where it ran for 92 performances. In 1978, Smith reprised her role (alongside Brian Bedford ) in a Stratford Festival production of the play. In 1980, a production from

6120-560: The run. Over the years, the play has been revived on Broadway six times. The first of these, in 1948, starred Tallulah Bankhead as Amanda and Donald Cook as Elyot, with Barbara Baxley as Sibyl and William Langford as Victor, in a production directed by Martin Manulis at the Plymouth Theatre , where it ran for 248 performances. The production toured all but three states of the U.S., and grossed more than $ 1.5 million. Coward went to see

6205-505: The sets and costumes were designed by Gladys Calthrop . The repertory of the tour also consisted of This Happy Breed and Blithe Spirit ; the three were advertised collectively as "Noel Coward in his Play Parade ". After playing in twenty-two towns and cities in England, Scotland and Wales, the tour ended with a six-week run at the Haymarket. All three acts of the play are set in Garry Essendine's London flat. Daphne Stillington,

6290-553: The spare room wearing Garry's pyjamas just as Daphne did in Act I. She too encounters Miss Erikson, Fred, and then Monica, who is horrified at her presence in such compromising circumstances. Liz arrives and puts pressure on Joanna by threatening to tell Morris that Joanna has spent the night with Garry. Joanna retreats to the spare room when the doorbell rings, but the caller is not Morris but Roland Maule, who says he has an appointment with Garry. Monica leads him to an adjacent room to wait for Garry. Frantic comings and goings follow, with

6375-536: The subject of literary analysis under a range of literary theories. Coward expressed a dim view of such analyses: "Many years ago an earnest young man wrote a book about my plays. It was very intelligent and absolute rubbish." In a 2005 article, Penny Farfan analyses the play from the point of view of queer theory , arguing that "the subversiveness of [Coward's] sexual identity is reflected in his work," and that Private Lives questions "the conventional gender norms on which compulsory heterosexuality depends." Positing that

6460-525: The two began rehearsing the scenes they shared. At the end of July they returned to London where Coward began to direct the production. Coward played the part of Elyot Chase himself, Adrianne Allen was his bride Sibyl, Lawrence played Amanda Prynne, and Laurence Olivier was her new husband Victor. Coward wrote Sibyl and Victor as minor characters, "extra puppets, lightly wooden ninepins, only to be repeatedly knocked down and stood up again." He later insisted, however, that they must be credible new spouses for

6545-484: The world that justifies detachment. However, in a 1992 article on "Coward and the Politics of Homosexual Representation", Alan Sinfield , examining gay aspects of Coward's major plays, mentions Private Lives only in passing. The critic Michael Billington writes of the piece, "It is not a closet gay play but a classic about the mysterious charm of androgeny [ sic ]." The play has also been analysed as part of

6630-651: Was directed by Jonathan Kent . This production was reprised with the same cast at the Gielgud Theatre , in London, from 3 July (previews from 22 June) to 21 September 2013. This performance was broadcast to participating cinemas in the UK from 6 February 2014, and in the US on 11 December 2013, by CinemaLive and Digital Theatre in their West End Theatre Series. A UK tour of Private Lives starring Patricia Hodge and Nigel Havers opened in October 2021 in Bath . This production cast all

6715-404: Was filmed for BBC Television . Coward acknowledged that the central character, the egocentric actor Garry Essendine, was a self-caricature. Ben Brantley called the play "among the most shameless, if liveliest, self-addressed valentines in theater history." Coward repeats one of his signature theatrical devices at the end of the play, where the main characters tiptoe out as the curtain falls –

6800-574: Was first staged at the beginning of a 25-week tour of Britain by Coward and his cast. His producer, Binkie Beaumont , was opposed to so long a provincial tour, and wanted to open at the Haymarket Theatre in London. Coward countered that in wartime conditions, "the provinces can't come to the West End any more, therefore the West End must go to the provinces". Present Laughter was first produced in Blackpool on 20 September 1942, Coward directed and

6885-659: Was first staged in the US in 1946; after an out-of-town tour it opened on 29 October 1946 at the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway . It featured Clifton Webb as Garry and closed in March 1947 after 158 performances. In 1958 Coward appeared in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles as Garry with Eva Gabor as Joanna. American successors in the role of Garry Essendine have included Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (1975), George C. Scott (1982), Frank Langella (1996), Victor Garber (2010), and Kevin Kline (2017). Coward directed and starred in

6970-490: Was influenced by Ben Jonson 's comedy of humours , made fun of affected wit and acquired follies of the time. The masterpieces of the genre were the plays of William Wycherley ( The Country Wife , 1675) and William Congreve ( The Way of the World , 1700). In the late 18th century Oliver Goldsmith ( She Stoops to Conquer , 1773) and Richard Brinsley Sheridan ( The Rivals , 1775; The School for Scandal , 1777) revived

7055-439: Was made into a 1931 film and has been adapted several times for television and radio. Coward was in the middle of an extensive Asian tour when he contracted influenza in Shanghai . He spent the better part of his two-week convalescence sketching out the play and then completed the actual writing of the piece in only four days. He immediately cabled Gertrude Lawrence in New York to ask her to keep autumn 1930 free to appear in

7140-639: Was not well received, although Sara Crowe won an Olivier Award , Actress in a Supporting Role, as Sibyl. Arvin Brown directed Collins as Amanda and Simon Jones as Elyot in a 1992 Broadway production that closed after only 11 previews and 37 performances at the Broadhurst Theatre . The last West End production of the 20th century was at the National Theatre , running from May to September 1999, with Anton Lesser as Elyot and Juliet Stevenson as Amanda, directed by Philip Franks . A 2001 London revival emphasised

7225-588: Was set in a modest suburban household; the other, originally titled Sweet Sorrow , later Present Laughter , depicted the affairs of a star actor. The title "Present Laughter" is drawn from the song " O Mistress Mine " in Twelfth Night , Act 2, Scene 3, which urges carpe diem ("present mirth hath present laughter"). The plot of Present Laughter had been forming in Coward's mind over the previous three years, but he recalled in his memoirs that once he began writing it,

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