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A CurtainUp 
London Review
London ReviewHay Fever
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None of us ever means anything.
— Sorel
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Lindsay Duncan as Judith Bliss and Jeremy Northam as Richard Greatham (Photo: Catherine Ashmore) |
The very popular and, on occasions when called for, extravagant actress, Phoebe Waller-Bridge is Sorel, the histrionic Bliss daughter and her brother Simon, the spoilt artist is played by Freddie Fox. This pair of “Enfants Terribles” terrorise everyone else including the guests who are almost eaten alive. Jeremy Northam, unrecognisable in horn rimmed spectacles, is Sorel’s restrained diplomatist (a now defunct noun) and husband prospect, while Simon is flirting with an older woman who looks as if she has just stepped off the pages of Vogue, Myra Arundel (Olivia Colman). Judith has an adoring theatre fan, Sandy Tyrell (Sam Callis) who arrives in leather driving gear and David’s acolyte is typist Jackie Coryton (Amy Morgan) who is out of her social depth. We feel that Noël Coward must have known this eccentric family such is the detail of his observation of the Bliss family at play. When tea is served the Blisses all help themselves to cups of tea and the sandwiches, completely ignoring the needs of every one of their guests and oblivious to the usual rules of hospitality.
Bunny Christie’s country house set is large and spacious but shabby and the furniture and decoration have that lived in look! The costumes also by Bunny Christie are beautiful, silk dressing gowns and wide legged pyjamas, and Judith Bliss’s evening outfit has a full length, billowing silk jacket, which flows out behind her as she glides across the stage. Her theatricality enjoys the drama of this progress and so she is almost continually walking back and forth across the stage showing off the fashionable effect of the gossamer bronzed fabric. The hair styles too are perfectly in period.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge is delightful. Her performance is all gung ho and stomping around inelegantly in a rather masculine and clumsy fashion with her mother extolling her daughter’s beauty and feeling jealous with the advent of her old age. The after dinner game of adjectives is great fun as they argue about which adjectives to use, settling on winsomely, which of course poor Miss Coryton doesn’t get at all. She suggests appendicitis as the adjective and is suitable put down. Ouch! We are never quite sure with Lindsay Duncan’s character whether she is playing a role she has played in the past but when the children join in, we know this is a rehearsed routine.
With a running time of two hours five minutes with a single interval, some of Coward’s script has been pared down and of course the second interval is left out. In my opinion Hay Fever is not Coward’s best play as it lacks any subtly and is more caricature but Howard Davies has given it a very good production and it is a perfect vehicle for Miss Waller-Bridge to showcase her talent.
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| Hay Fever
Written by Noël Coward Directed by Howard Davies Starring: Lindsay Duncan, Kevin R McNally, Freddie Fox, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jeremy Northam With: Jenny Galloway, Sam Callis, Olivia Colman, Amy Morgan Designed by Bunny Christie Lighting: Mark Henderson Sound: Mike Walker Running time: Two hours 5 minutes with one interval Box Office: 0844 482 5141 Booking to 2nd June 2012 Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on the 23rd February 2012 press preview performance at the Noël Coward, St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4AU (Tube: Leicester Square) |
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