Noel Coward

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Titles to Look Out For:

About Noel Coward
1987. Noel Coward (Macmillan Modern Dramatists) by Frances Gray

By Noel Coward
1941. Blithe Spirit: An Improbable Farce in Three Acts
1947. Private Lives: An Intimate Comedy

1941, Samuel French
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• Blithe Spirit:An Improbable Farce in Three Acts [top]
  Published in 1941 in Great Britain by Samuel French, pbk, 96pp.
  The action of the play passes in the living room of Charles Condomine's house in Kent. Includes stage plans, property plot and lighting plot and photo of an original staging of the play

Synopsis of Scenes:
Act 1.
Act 1, Scene 1: Before dinner on a summer evening.
Act 1, Scene 2: After dinner. Act 3, Scene 1: After dinner, a few days later. Act 3, Scene 2: Several hours later
Act 2.
Act 2, Scene 1: The next morning
Act 2, Scene 2: Late the following afternoon
Act 2, Scene 3: Early Evening, a few days later
Act 3.
Act 3, Scene 1: After dinner, a few days later
Act 3, Scene 2: Several hours later

Production Details:
Originally produced at the Opera House, Manchester on June 16th, 1941 and then played at the Piccadilly Theatre, London, on July 2nd, 1941, with the following cast of characters:

Edith (a maid), originally played by Ruth Reeves
Ruth, originally played by Fay Compton
Charles, originally played by Cecil Parker
Dr Bradman, originally played by Martin Lewis
Mrs. Bradman, originally played by Moya Nugent
Madame Arcati, originally played by Margaret Rutherford
Elvira, originally played by Kay Hammond

1947, Samuel French
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• Private Lives: An Intimate Comedy [top]
  Published in 1947 in Great Britain by Samuel French, as a French's Acting Edition, pbk, 96pp
  This acting edition has been made in accordance with the production at the Apollo Theatre, London, on 31st October 1944, production by John Clements

Number of Acts: 3
Number of Roles: 5: 3 women, 2 men

Synopsis of Scenes:
Act 1. The Terrace of a hotel in France. A summer evening
Act 2. Amanda's flat in Paris. A few days later. Evening.
Act 3. The same. Next morning

Production Details:
Originally produced at the Phoenix Theatre, London, on 24th September 1930, with the following cast of characters

Original Production Roles:

Produced at the Phoenix Theatre, London, on 24th September 1930, with the following cast of characters:

Sibyl Chase, played originally by Adrianne Aller
Elyot Chase, played originally by Noel Coward
Victor Prynne, played originally by Laurence Olivier
Amanda Prynne, played originally by Gertrude Lawrence
Louise, played originally by Everley Gregg

Details of Production by John Clements:

Produced at the Apollo Theatre, London, on 31st October 1944

Sibyl Chase, played by Peggy Simpson
Elyot Chase, played by John Clements
Victor Prynne, played by Raymond Huntley
Amanda Prynne, played by Kay Hammond
Louise, played by Yvonne André

The book contains stage plans for all 3 acts and furniture, music & property plots & 2 photos of the original stage settings

1987, Macmillan
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• Noel Coward (Macmillan Modern Dramatists) [top]
  Written by Frances Gray
  First published in 1987 in Great Britain by Macmillan in hardcover, with dustjacket, 216pp, ISBN 0333293320
  The jacket illustration shows Simon Cadell, Joanna Lumley and Marcia Warren in the 1986 production of Blithe Spirit at the Vaudeville Theatre
  

Contents: In this new (for its time) study of Coward and his plays, Frances Gray describes the man behind the Coward mask and his extraordinary relationship with his audience. She provides an analysis of his five most enduring comedies:

Hay Fever
Private Lives
Design for Living
Present Laughter
Blithe Spirit.

Frances Gray at the time of publication was lecturer in English Literature and Drama at the University of Sheffield and author of John Arden , also in the Modern Dramatists series. Chapters: The Mask; Society's Hero; Consider the audience...; 'I've had to formulate a Creed...'; Mainly about style; Five Comedies and Afterword. Includes chronology of Coward's plays; references; bibliography and index

Contains 7 plates:

1. Private Lives, Phoenix Theatre, 1930. Noel Coward as Elyot, Gertrude Lawrence as Amanda

2. Design for Living, Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York, 1933. Noel Coward as Leo, Alfred Lunt as Otto, Lynn Fontane as Gilda

3. Blithe Spirit, St James Theatre, 1942. Margaret Rutherford as Madame Arcati, Kay Hammond as Elvira, Fay Compton as Ruth

4. The Vortex, Everyman Theatre, 1924. Noel Coward as Nicky, Lillian Braithwaite as Florence

5. Curtain call, Blithe Spirit, St. James Theatre, 1942. Fay Compton as Ruth, Noel Coward as Charles Condomine, Kay Hammond as Elvira

6. Design for Living, Phoenix Theatre, 1973. Peter Bayliss as Ernest, Jeremy Brett as Otta, Vanessa Redgrave as Gilda, John Stride as Leo

7. Waiting in the Wings, Duke of York's, 1960. Una Venning as Cora, Maidie Andrews as Bonita, Betty Hare as Dora, Sybil Thorndike as Lotta.

Prices & Editions on Amazon:

1987, Palgrave Macmillan, hbk

1987, Palgrave Macmillan, pbk

1987, St. Martin's Press, hbk