Three works by ‘The Master’ Noel Coward are touring to Bath’s Theatre Royal this week to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his death and the 125th of his birth.
His final trilogy, Suite in Three Keys, is the first complete revival for a generation and stars Tara Fitzgerald, Stephen Boxer and Emma Fielding, as well as Steffan Rizzi, who plays the hotel waiter Felix in all three plays.
A Song at Twilight, and the double bill Shadows of the Evening and Come into the Garden, Maud have been toured exclusively to Bath from Richmond’s Orange Tree Theatre, providing a rare opportunity for audiences to watch the whole trilogy.
The plays are being performed in repertory across one week, so audiences can book to watch the full-length play A Song at Twilight, a double-bill of Shadows of the Evening and Come into the Garden, Maud, or see all three plays in a single day.
Set in 1965, in a private suite of the Hotel Beau Rivage, Switzerland, on the shore of Lake Geneva, three separate stories unfold.
In A Song at Twilight, a famous, elderly writer Hugo Latymer, a character reputedly based on Somerset Maughan, faces blackmail at the hands of an ex-lover threatening to expose his secret homosexual past.
Forming a double-bill and set in the same hotel suite, Shadows of the Evening explores the intricacies of a late-life love triangle, while Come into the Garden, Maud is a fizzing comedy about the misunderstandings between Americans and Europeans abroad.
The trilogy is directed by Orange Tree Artistic Director Tom Littler, whose career began at Theatre Royal Bath where he was associate director of the Peter Hall Company.
They date from the mid-1960s but all three plays contain Noel Coward's trademark wit and verbal invention whilst confronting themes of mortality, sexuality and honesty with remarkable daring.
Tara Fitzgerald plays Carlotta Gray in A Song at Twilight, Linda Savignac in Shadows of the Evening and Maud Caragnani in Come into the Garden, Maud.
Stephen Boxer plays Hugo Latymer in A Song at Twilight, George Hilgay in Shadows of the Evening and Verner Conklin in Come into the Garden, Maud
Emma Fielding plays Hile Latymer in A Song at Twilight, Anne Hiklgay in Shadows of the Evening and Anna-Mary Conklin in Come into the Garden, Maud.
For family reasons, I was only able to review A Song at Twilight on Tuesday (July 9) and missed seeing the other two plays on a double bill on Thursday (July 11).
While the acting in A Song at Twilight was excellent, the performance is spot on with Noel Coward’s sparkling wit and penetratingly funny one-liners, but the American and German accents tend to waver and at times it was hard to hear what was being said.
In A Song at Twilight, Coward makes some very pertinent observations about a writer’s legacy and the dichotomy over what is private and what is rightfully worthy of public interest.
The creative team for Suite in Three Keys includes designer Louie Whitemore, lighting designer Chris McDonnell, sound designer Tom Attwood and associate designer Jessica Statton.
Watching all three plays consecutively makes for almost five and a half hours of theatre, which is fine if you love Coward’s work. I do, so two and half hours on Tuesday was pure bliss.
Suite in Three Keys appears at the Theatre Royal Bath to Saturday, July 13. To book tickets contact the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 or visit theatreroyal.org.uk.
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