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Review: Present Laughter, Exeter Northcott Theatre

Summary

Rating

Unmissable!

A university production of a Coward classic which is produced with great skill and acted with immense fun and warmth complete with a delightful poignancy.

Light, frivolous and entertaining, Present Laughter certainly is, but there is a deeper tone in Noel Coward’s autobiographical play which speaks of the insecurities borne by the rich and famous. “Have any of us got what we want?” says Garry Essendine, the central figure in the story.

Exeter University Theatre Company’s (EUTCO) production presents a beautifully simple, uncluttered set with a classy look, offering space for the actors to move wonderfully freely. Coward’s world of the 1930s is one where style is in abundance and this is well provided here with some exquisite costuming and suitable props.

The language though is the key to Coward, drenched in wit and wisdom, in sharp-tongued put-downs and acidic asides – get these right and you are heading for success. To witness a group of students tackle this play and get it so right is an utter joy.

Standing tall and dominating proceedings is Seb Tapp whose energetic, very funny and wonderfully camp portrayal of the actor Essendine is truly excellent. He gets through his lines like an express train, yet every word can be heard, such is the clarity of his diction. But this isn’t just superficial; abandoned by his friends and acquaintances he crumples “I’m nothing but a husk – an empty shell..” he bemoans. Tapp visibly and audibly changes; the bravado is gone, the mask is removed from the self-centred Garry. It is suddenly very moving. A seriously good performance.

Isabella Maunder is wonderfully poised and elegant as his estranged wife, Liz. She has great presence and style and is beautifully costumed; an assured and faultless performance. The role of Garry’s secretary, Monica, is one of the best Coward wrote and Sasha Hawksworth is tremendous in it; full of understanding, control and tolerance, but also with the subtext of a deep unrequited love for her boss.

Another favoured role is that of the ardent fan Roland Maule, obsessed with Essendine and needing to feed off his talent, in it Alex Webb gives a comedy masterclass. Creating laughter just by the way he sits and the way he (virtually) clings to Garry, this is hero-worship, bordering on sexual attraction – the discovery of a white handkerchief and the holding it to his nose is an ‘off-camera’ moment of sublimity. This is an actor with comedy bones!

Niall O’Mara is excellent as the happy-go-lucky valet, Fred and, along with Sophie Campbell as the very quirky housekeeper Miss Erikson, they are a great team – consuming the left-over drinks between acts is hilarious. Mathilda Butler is suitably scatty as the ingenue (and fan) Daphne Stillington – though her opening speech was a little rushed, her delivery certainly settled down as the play proceeded. Sam Churchouse and Ted Turner tackle the rather stuffed-shirt characters of Morris Dixon and Henry Lyppiatt with vigour and can bellow with the best of them. And as the dangerous siren Clementine Wilson is full of a bubbling sexuality which she exudes with abandon.

Fern Boston’s skill as a director is in evidence again; bringing out plenty of comedy, both verbal and physical as well as the pathos implicit in the play. The pace she has injected this production with is just perfect and it moves along so easily and where a lengthy pause is required, it is there – she understands how to create momentum. Excellent music choices throughout create the right ambience which offer a backdrop to the fine performances.

Eloise Cannan’s production team should be rightly proud of themselves. A delight from start to finish and an enormous achievement for EUTCO.


Written by: Noel Coward
Directed by: Fern Boston
Produced by: Eloise Cannan
Assistant Director: Orla Duggan
Assistant Producer: Liv Hodgson
Production Design by: Eliza Clark
Stage Manager: Jack Gregory
Technical Managers: Jithya Wijesinghe & Martha Clifton

Present Laughter plays at Exeter Northcott Theatre until 1 February. Further information and tickets can be found here.

Cormac Richards

Based in Devon in SW England, Cormac has been involved in theatre in some way for over 50 years and is a seasoned reviewer in the region. His love of theatre is also demonstrated in his own writing, both of plays and new articles. A slow runner, poor gardener and cricket enthusiast he also runs an online shop with a stock of several thousand stage scripts!

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