Noel Coward

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

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

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

Written as a vehicle for Coward’s own acting talents alongside his frequent stage partner Gertrude Lawrence, Tonight at 8:30 is Coward’s ambitious series of ten one-act plays which saw him breathe new life into the one-act form. From vaudeville to satire, from farce to intricate comedy of manners, from melodrama to romance, these plays span the full, glorious range of Coward’s writing. Peep through your fingers at the chaotic Red Peppers music-hall show, witness a bankrupt couple use all Ways and Means to scheme their way out of debt, and break your heart along with Laura in the famous Still Life, the original version of the film Brief Encounter. First performed in London in 1936, the plays perfectly showcase Coward's talents as a playwright, providing a sparkling, fast-paced and remarkably varied selection of theatrical gems. Coward wrote of the first series of three plays with characteristic delight: ‘They are all brilliantly written, exquisitely directed, and I am bewitching in all of them.’ Gertrude Lawrence wrote to Coward in 1947, ‘Dearest Noël, wherever I go . . . all I hear is "please revive Tonight at 8.30!"'All ten plays are collected together into this volume that features both Coward’s own preface and an introduction by Barry Day, Coward expert and editor of The Letters of Noël Coward. This new edition of Tonight at 8.30 is published to coincide with English Touring Theatre and the Nuffield Southampton's revival for the first time in the UK since Coward starred in them in 1936.

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 séances - 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 séance. 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 Lansbury as Madame Arcati.

Design for Living is a classic comedy play written by Noel Coward, first performed in 1933. The play revolves around three characters, Gilda, Otto, and Leo, who are all artists and close friends. The trio finds themselves in a complicated love triangle, with each of them being in love with the other two. The play explores themes of love, sexuality, and morality, as the characters struggle to navigate their complicated relationships. Gilda, Otto, and Leo are all talented and ambitious, and they each want to pursue their artistic passions while also finding love and happiness. As the story unfolds, the characters must confront their own desires and insecurities, and make difficult choices about their futures. The play is filled with witty dialogue, clever wordplay, and sharp observations about human nature. Design for Living has been praised for its daring and unconventional approach to relationships and morality, as well as its innovative use of language and humor. It remains a beloved classic of modern theater, and a testament to Coward's talent as a playwright. This is a new release of the original 1933 edition. This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

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

Hay Fever is a comedic play written by Noel Coward, first performed in 1925. The play is set in the 1920s and follows the eccentric Bliss family, who live in a country house in England. The family consists of Judith, a retired actress, her husband David, a writer, and their two adult children, Simon and Sorel. The four of them are all artistic and self-absorbed, and they each invite a guest to stay with them for the weekend without informing the others. Chaos ensues as the guests arrive and are subjected to the family's bizarre and melodramatic behavior. The play is known for its witty dialogue, farcical situations, and satirical commentary on the upper-class society of the time. Coward's writing style is characterized by his use of rapid-fire dialogue and clever wordplay. Hay Fever has been adapted for film and television several times and remains a popular play in the modern theater repertoire. This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

Coward's wit and precision as a modern dramatist is nowhere better exemplified than in this classic modern play from 1930. Elyot Chase and Amanda Prynne (originally played by Gertrude Lawrence and Noël Coward), recently divorced from one another five years previously, arrive coincidentally at the same French hotel. They are honeymooning with their respective new spouses. Encountering one another by chance, each is at once horrified and fascinated by the other. Together they leave for Paris and begin a roundelay of quarrels and love intrigues that culminate in their getting back together.

The Complete Verse of Noël 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.

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

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

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.

Comedy / Characters: 6 male, 3 femaleScenery: InteriorOne 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 conver