Hay Fever, Noël Coward Theatre

Pros: A very well executed production with some famous faces.

Cons: Sometimes the lack of distinct plot makes it difficult for the audience to stay engaged.
Hay Fever, Noël Coward Theatre

Summary

rating

60

Good

An enjoyable and entertaining evening which delivers its fair share of laughs.

There has been a considerable hubbub surrounding the latest production to be staged at the Noël Coward Theatre. Not least because six years after it changed it’s name from the Albery Theatre, the Noël Coward theatre is finally hosting a production of one of Noël Coward’s plays. Better late than never, I suppose. The play in question, Hay Fever, is not as obvious a choice as Blithe Spirit or Private Lives would have been. None the less, it has considerable notoriety in theatrical circle, and Howard Davies’ latest production boasts an excellent cast. How does it fare in its latest incarnation? Towards the end of his career, Coward commented on his first production of Hay Fever: ” [the reviews] were amiable and well-disposed although far from effusive. It was noted, as indeed it has been today, that the play had no plot and that there were few if any ‘witty’ lines”. Coward’s own words describe this production to a tee.

As Coward recognised himself, Hay Fever is a play which doesn’t have any particular plot line. Some would argue, that this is of no importance: this play is more a farce based high society’s manners and protocols (or lack thereof) than a comedy driven by a strong story line. None the less, as an audience member it is sometimes difficult to stay engaged. The trick is to think of this as a comedy of situation, and to enjoy the cringes, the awkwardness and the uproar caused by the Bliss family’s total disregard for the expected social protocol. The basic setting is that each member of the dysfunctional but well-off Bliss family invites an acquaintance to their country home for the same weekend. Without, of course, consulting each other. The result is a crowd of characters, often polar opposites, forced to socially interact and follow protocol. A retired diva, a dull diplomat, spoilt children, an arrogant novelist, a clueless flapper… the list goes on, and the audience are witnesses to perhaps one of the most awkward weekends in modern literary history.