Tonight at 8:30: 8 Great Plays by Noel Coward

by Noël Coward

This collection of eight one-act plays was written by Coward for himself and Gertrude Lawrence as an ambitious attempt to revive the one-act play form. First performed in 1935, the plays perfectly showcase his trademark panache for sparkling, sophisticated, witty dialogue. The short form also exhibits Coward’s versatility with themes that range from comical farce to dark satire, played out in plots about mistaken identities, unconsummated affairs and love at first sight. These plays are set between the Victorian era and the emerging Modern period of the 1920s and 30s. The plays are: Family Album, Red Peppers, Still Life, Fumed Oak, The Astonished Heart, Hands Across the Sea, Ways and Means, We Were Dancing.

Genres: Plays, Drama

First published January 1, 1935

About the author

Sir 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.

Reviews

[Sketchbook · Rating 1 out of 5]

Coward wrote these one-acters for himself and Gertrude Lawrence, believing that the public, after "Private Lives," liked to see them together. Lawrence must have had some kind of glistening charm, but from what I've seen of Coward in films, he's always a sissypot. Anyway, this project in 1935-36 was the last time they acted together. With the exception of "Hands Across the Sea," a flighty fluffy about a society couple in London who welcome some forgotten colonials from the Far East, and "Still Life," which became the film "Brief Encounter," the plays are rubbish. Mannered fantasies of humid passion and sentimental prattle. Coward wrote 5 or 6 memorable comedies, but this batch of 8 is best dismissed. ("Hands" can work for school groups: the leading role is played by a telephone). The series followed his tropical lust-suicide melodrama, "Point Valaine," the only flop in which the Lunts appeared (1934). When Coward was bad, he was Very.

[Rolls · Rating 3 out of 5]

A truly mixed bag and a tad dated in parts. That being said it does show remarkable range and ambition on Coward's part. A man of many talents, Coward grew restive in a long run. After about three months he was bored to catalepsy with any show he was appearing in - even those he wrote. So to stave off boredom he devised the notion of writing 9 one acts which were to be performed as three seperate evenings of three plays each. A daring scheme to be sure. To watch Coward and the enchanting Gertrude Lawrence lock horns in the domestic melodrama of "Fumed Oak" and then torture each other in the sophisticated tear jerker "The Astonished Heart" and then proceed to prance about in the music hall spoof "The Red Peppers" must have been sheer Heaven. Unfortunately on the page the plays don't always take you there. Of course plays are made to be performed but aside from the three I already mentioned and "Still Life" none of the other plays warrant reviving today and even in the 30's must have appeared slight to a discerning theatregoer. Still all of the plays have their moments and there is much to love in this collection of one acts.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorites were Still Life, We Were Dancing, and Fumed Oak. The others were just hard to read.

[Julie Vellacott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a joy to read and reread anything by Noel Coward. Some of the humour is a bit dated, but the stories are completely contemporary.

[Siddharth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in May 2014, Singapore

Tonight at 8:30 is a set of 10 one-act plays written, performed and acted-in by Noel Coward in the 1930sm partly to revive the "one-act play" format, and partly to reprise his previously successful partnership with Gertrude Lawrence.

The plays wander in storyline from commonplace to exquisite, but what is consistently excellent is Coward's brilliant comic dialogue, which enlivens the former and elevates the excellent plays (Red Peppers, Shadow Play) to works of great beauty.

I'm definitely treating myself to more of Noel Coward in the near future.

[Annie Garvey · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's hard to read plays because they are made to be performed. These plays seem dated except for "Still Life" which was the basis for "Brief Encounter." The middle-class romance of Laura and Alec contrasts with the lower-class romance of Mrs. Bagot and Albert.

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one does upper-crust British comedy better than Noel. He was a master and this is one of his greatest achievements.

[Onnica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great range of short, quirky and humorous plays. Still Life has to be my favourite.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

My (teenage) introduction to Coward and the modernist English stage.