|
Post by dem bones on Jun 11, 2017 17:53:27 GMT
Noel Coward - Blithe Spirit : Private Lives : Hay Fever (Pan, 1954) Blurb: About this book
The three plays in this volume represent Noel Coward's most sparkling mood. Of Blithe Spirit he writes : "I shall ever be grateful for the almost psychic gift that enabled me to write Blithe Spirit in five days during one of the darkest years of the war. It was not meticulously constructed in advance and only one day elapsed between its original conception and the moment I sat down to write it. It fell into my mind and out of my mind on to the manuscript. Six weeks later it was produced and ran for four and a half years, and I am still wondering whether or not it was 'important'." The film was similarly successful; from it comes the photograph of Kay Hammond and Rex Harrison reproduced on the cover of this volume. Private Lives was conceived in Tokyo and written in Shanghai; first produced in 1930, with Gertrude Lawrence and Noel Coward himself playing the leading parts, it was then considered to be "delightfully daring". Hay Fever is by some critics held to be Mr. Coward's best comedy. It was originally produced with a brilliant cast led by Marie Tempest, and though Mr. Coward says that it is one of the most difficult plays to perform that he has ever encountered, it has proved to be a favourite with amateurs.
Noel Coward made his first appearance on the stage in 1910, and thereafter achieved a high reputation as an actor. He is a prolific playwright. Besides his comedies, his musical plays such as Cavalcade and Bitter Sweet will long be remembered. In film-writing too he has excelled, with, for example, In Which We Serve and Brief Encounter. He has written two volumes of autobiography and many short stories, a collection of which, entitled Star Quality, is also a PAN Book.Landed this and equally gorgeous copy of Eight Tales Of Hoffman (Pan 1952) at Brick Lane/ Sclater Street Market this morning, £1 the pair. Previous owner kindly enclosed a relevant newspaper clipping.
|
|
|
Post by cromagnonman on Jun 11, 2017 20:56:22 GMT
What a marvellous find Dem. Would have picked this up without hesitation myself had I been fortunate enough to stumble upon it. I think I've mentioned once or twice before that I used to be an inveterate theatre goer back in my salad days. Sadly the precise details of all but the very worst productions I saw have tended to fade from memory over time, leaving only a vague impression about whether I enjoyed a certain play or didn't. But for some reason Blithe Spirit has lingered rather longer in the mind than most. The Churchill Theatre was a major production centre back then instead of being the rather sad little staging post for an endless stream of tribute acts that it is today. Anyway, the production of Coward's play it mounted was a sumptuous one staged on a particularly impressive set. The cast too was excellent and I have vivid recollections of Elvira's first appearance as Rula Lenska - all fiery red hair and shimmering white satin - swept dramatically through a pair of billowing curtains. Guy Siner, who even back then had a long track record in performing Coward, made for an especially well cast Condomine. Sadly Gerald Flood died suddenly just six months after this performance. Am somewhat aghast to discover that I saw this show nearly thirty years ago now. Egad! Anyway am glad of the excuse to go rummaging through my box of old programmes once again. It is of course incumbent on me to point out that Deborah Grant played Jim's ex-wife in Bergerac.
|
|
|
Post by franklinmarsh on Jun 12, 2017 8:21:43 GMT
|
|
|
Post by cromagnonman on Jun 12, 2017 11:29:39 GMT
That looks to have been a fun production FM. Have seen Louise Jameson on stage many times and she's always good value. Played Jim's girlfriend in Bergerac of course.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Jun 13, 2017 5:34:52 GMT
Thanks for sharing, Crom and FM. Magnificent casts! No surprise that I've never caught any performance of the play and only vaguely recall catching the film on TV but it stuck in my mind that there was a ghost in it. Another plus: Blithe Spirit, "an improbable farce in three acts," gets its business done in 98 pages but it feels more like 50. You can download a PDF HERE. *Crom, if you've not checked your Private Messages recently, you might like to do so ..... *
|
|
|
Post by cromagnonman on Jun 14, 2017 14:00:30 GMT
How serendipitous is this? I've just received the new season brochure for the Churchill Theatre and find myself flabbergasted to find Louise Jameson cast as Miss Marple in A Murder Is Announced. Miss Marple!?!?!?!
This is the woman forever preserved in aspic in my memory as the primally sexy and chamois-leatherclad Leela. Where the heck did time go that she's now considered fair game for playing a crime solving pensioner?
|
|