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Noël Coward on (and In) Theatre
Noël Coward on theatre was as dazzling and entertaining as his masterful plays and lyrics. Here his ideas and opinions on the subject are brilliantly brought together in an extraordinary collection of commentary, lyrics, essays, and asides on everything having to do with the theatre and Coward's dazzling life in it.
The book Noël Coward wanted, promised, threatened to write--and never did.
Including essays, interviews, diary entries, verse, his views on his fellow playwrights: My Colleague Will, Shaw, Wilde, Chekhov, Barrie, Maugham, Eliot, Osborne, Albee, Beckett, Miller, Williams, Rattigan, Pinter, and Shaffer.
Coward on the critics--many of whom irritated him over the years but came to admire him: James Agate, Alexander Woollcott, Graham Greene, Kenneth Tynan among them.
And on the plays he wrote, among them: The Vortex; Hay Fever; Private Lives; Design For Living; Blithe Spirit.
Here is the Master on the producers who crossed his path: André Charlot, C. B. Cochran, Binkie Beaumont. And the actors in the Coward galaxy: John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Gertrude Lawrence, the Lunts, etc. . . .
His views on the art of acting: auditions, rehearsals, learning the lines, clarity of delivery, timing, control, range, stage fright, fans, theater audiences, revivals, comedy, the Method, plays with a message, taste, construction, Star Quality, etc. . . .
And last, but Noël Coward least, his experience in, and thoughts on: revue, cabaret, television, and musical theater, Bitter Sweet, Conversation Piece, Pacific 1860, After the Ball, Ace of Clubs, Sail Away, The Girl Who Came to Supper, Words and Music, This Year of Grace, London Calling! . . . and much more.
Ingeniously, deftly compiled, edited, and annotated by Barry Day, Coward authority and editor of The Noёl Coward Reader and The Letters of Noёl Coward.
The book Noël Coward wanted, promised, threatened to write--and never did.
Including essays, interviews, diary entries, verse, his views on his fellow playwrights: My Colleague Will, Shaw, Wilde, Chekhov, Barrie, Maugham, Eliot, Osborne, Albee, Beckett, Miller, Williams, Rattigan, Pinter, and Shaffer.
Coward on the critics--many of whom irritated him over the years but came to admire him: James Agate, Alexander Woollcott, Graham Greene, Kenneth Tynan among them.
And on the plays he wrote, among them: The Vortex; Hay Fever; Private Lives; Design For Living; Blithe Spirit.
Here is the Master on the producers who crossed his path: André Charlot, C. B. Cochran, Binkie Beaumont. And the actors in the Coward galaxy: John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Gertrude Lawrence, the Lunts, etc. . . .
His views on the art of acting: auditions, rehearsals, learning the lines, clarity of delivery, timing, control, range, stage fright, fans, theater audiences, revivals, comedy, the Method, plays with a message, taste, construction, Star Quality, etc. . . .
And last, but Noël Coward least, his experience in, and thoughts on: revue, cabaret, television, and musical theater, Bitter Sweet, Conversation Piece, Pacific 1860, After the Ball, Ace of Clubs, Sail Away, The Girl Who Came to Supper, Words and Music, This Year of Grace, London Calling! . . . and much more.
Ingeniously, deftly compiled, edited, and annotated by Barry Day, Coward authority and editor of The Noёl Coward Reader and The Letters of Noёl Coward.
- GenresNonfictionTheatreGay
480 pages, Hardcover
Published November 2, 2021
8 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Noël Coward
430 books218 followersSir Noël Peirce Coward was an English actor, playwright, and composer of popular music. Among his achievements, he received an Academy Certificate of Merit at the 1943 Academy Awards for "outstanding production achievement for In Which We Serve."
Known for his wit, flamboyance, and personal style, his plays and songs achieved new popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, and his work and style continue to influence popular culture. The former Albery Theatre (originally the New Theatre) in London was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre in his honour in 2006.
Known for his wit, flamboyance, and personal style, his plays and songs achieved new popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, and his work and style continue to influence popular culture. The former Albery Theatre (originally the New Theatre) in London was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre in his honour in 2006.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 30, 2022
The actual Coward contained in the book will be familiar to devotees, although this was the first time I got to read the series he wrote in the early 1960s chastising everyone from critics to fellow playwrights and actors. He even laid down the law to audiences. How you respond to Coward is personal. After a meteoric career in the 20s and 30s, he was unfashionable for the middle of it (Day takes cracks at the shows dating from Pacific 1860 to Sail Away, with a couple of knocks at Quadrille and Waiting in the Wings on the non-musical side of things). He also has a lot to say about people like Jack Wilson, Binkie Beaumont, Kenneth Tynan, John Osborne, Harold Pinter and Ivor Novello, but largely omits the three people who made Coward's life in the theatre possible: Cole Lesley, Lorn Lorraine and Graham Payn. They each get cursory mentions. Except for Novello, the others are criticized by Day (and to be fair, Coward).
The book is poorly organized. Rather than a linear examination of his artistic development, Day groups Coward's work by genre. The result is annoying, although not nearly so much as his edition of Coward's letters.
The last decade of Coward's life saw "Dad's Renascence", and something of the sort seems to occur about once a decade these days. In many ways he reminds me of Neil Simon. Well constructed plots, albeit a bit mechanical, and an aura of slight fustiness on the material itself. Coward gives a very good description of how to play his characters --- perfect diction, minimal gestures and no mugging. It was harder than it seemed when the plays were freshly minted.
Recommended.
The book is poorly organized. Rather than a linear examination of his artistic development, Day groups Coward's work by genre. The result is annoying, although not nearly so much as his edition of Coward's letters.
The last decade of Coward's life saw "Dad's Renascence", and something of the sort seems to occur about once a decade these days. In many ways he reminds me of Neil Simon. Well constructed plots, albeit a bit mechanical, and an aura of slight fustiness on the material itself. Coward gives a very good description of how to play his characters --- perfect diction, minimal gestures and no mugging. It was harder than it seemed when the plays were freshly minted.
Recommended.
January 10, 2022
Apparently Coward had let it be known that he wanted to write a book about his experiences over time in the theater, but never did so in his lifetime. This book uses Coward's own words as compiled over time to tell that story. It is a revealing look at Coward's work and his work life, and gives a good bit of insight into a vivid life in American (and some British) theater. Most of his writings from the past come forward into this modern work in an easily enjoyable form; however, be prepared to hear Coward's acerbic wit throughout.
June 8, 2022
A treat for Coward fans
A delicious collection for Coward fans. While some of the selections from his writings are familiar to me, a great many more were not. A wonderfully enjoyable read.
A delicious collection for Coward fans. While some of the selections from his writings are familiar to me, a great many more were not. A wonderfully enjoyable read.
October 26, 2021
It's hard to think of a better guide to discussing all aspects of the theater than Noel Coward (1899-1973). During his 50-year career, Coward wrote nearly 70 plays, musicals, operettas and revues. He worked with or knew virtually everyone connected to the London stage and saw every production. And he had supremely witty and astute observations and opinions on everything. Editor Barry Day ("The Letters of Noel Coward") culls Coward's sage observations from his diaries, essays, interviews, stories, plays, lyrics and the reminiscences of his contemporaries.
Coward weighs in on Method acting, on plays with squalor and explicit language, writing for the theater versus novels or the cinema, directing plays and movies, troubled productions, fellow playwrights, other actors, critics and reviews. This 480-page volume is jam-packed with hilarious comments. On star quality: "I don't know what it is--but I've got it." Critics: "I think it is so frightfully clever of them to go night after night to the theatre and know so little about it." Eugene O'Neill: "LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT turned into Day's short journey to the Exit at the first intermission."
But this is not just a collection of witty comments. There are also his extensive profiles of contemporaries like Beatrice Lillie, John Gielgud and Gertrude Lawrence and thoughtful, behind-the-scenes tales of the mechanics of writing and launching theater productions. Coward promised to write a book on the theater but didn't. Day's NOEL COWARD ON (AND IN) THEATRE fulfills Coward's promise with a magnificent, expansive and extravagantly entertaining guide to all aspects of the theater.
Noel Coward's majestic, impressive and supremely droll take on all aspects of theater perfectly balances hilarious witticisms with astute observations no theater buff will want to miss.
Coward weighs in on Method acting, on plays with squalor and explicit language, writing for the theater versus novels or the cinema, directing plays and movies, troubled productions, fellow playwrights, other actors, critics and reviews. This 480-page volume is jam-packed with hilarious comments. On star quality: "I don't know what it is--but I've got it." Critics: "I think it is so frightfully clever of them to go night after night to the theatre and know so little about it." Eugene O'Neill: "LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT turned into Day's short journey to the Exit at the first intermission."
But this is not just a collection of witty comments. There are also his extensive profiles of contemporaries like Beatrice Lillie, John Gielgud and Gertrude Lawrence and thoughtful, behind-the-scenes tales of the mechanics of writing and launching theater productions. Coward promised to write a book on the theater but didn't. Day's NOEL COWARD ON (AND IN) THEATRE fulfills Coward's promise with a magnificent, expansive and extravagantly entertaining guide to all aspects of the theater.
Noel Coward's majestic, impressive and supremely droll take on all aspects of theater perfectly balances hilarious witticisms with astute observations no theater buff will want to miss.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews