Entering to the “gay” sounds of Cowardesque piano playing, the audience were easily set up for an evening of elegance and wit.  As the curtain rose we were presented with (and applauded) an extremely impressive set complete with full-length portraits (painted by Matthew Jeanes) of pivotal character Judith Bliss, (Christine West) a faded actress whose life is a never-ending performance.  The play takes place over two days: each member of the Bliss family has invited a guest to stay, much to the dismay of the other family members.  As the guests arrive, the hosts’ illicit rudeness is provoked, and a lot of mismatched coupling takes place with the giddy guests clawing at the door the following morning.

It was a mature performance, achieving the grace necessary to carry off the Coward formula without it spiralling into a farce of twenties society.  The characters effortlessly transported the audience into their world of house parties and after dinner games.  A charming performance was delivered by Lucille Ash as Judith Bliss’s long suffering house maid and former dresser Clara, who delivers some classic one liners much to the great amusement of the audience.

This was a play of excellent comedy timing - including some strategic handling of a nude sculpture - which really came into its own as the somewhat lulling pace of the first act picked up into a fervour in the second as the characters’ personalities started to clash.  This was certainly a play written to the female characters’ advantage, who, between them reduce a group of “Tim, nice but dim” men into confused and blithering idiots (if that’s not the same thing), but this was all part of the fun and each part was played with conviction and energy. 

Notable performances came from Tim Stevens as Richard Greatham, one of Judith’s victims whose facial contortions were magic – even his legs were funny.  There was no weak link amongst the cast but if there was any danger of a blip, the splendour of Christine West’s performance was the anchor.

Praise must go to director John Cousins who not only designed the set but also was responsible for the vision and creation of the ladies’ beautiful outfits.  At times the sound of the raging thunderstorm outside was a little sketchy but as Coward himself declared “ I love criticism” he said, only half in jest “just so long as it’s unqualified praise.”

The Tick List

Set

Costumes

Story

Cast

Overall 

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