Present
Laughter

Present Laughter
by Noël Coward

Everybody worships me, it’s nauseating.

Noël Coward was one of the world’s first celebrities and this play is both a celebration and a comic exposé of what it’s really like to be a famous and beloved man. He wrote this play in 1939 as an affectionate send-up of himself (with surprisingly honest insights) and played it on tour in 1942 and subsequently in London and America. The central role of the beloved Gary Essendine has since attracted numerous leading men in a series of suave dressing gowns including Clifton Webb, George C. Scott, Frank Langella and most recently Victor Garber. This play is full of the classic Coward wit and charm as it whisks us back to a more innocent past, when being a famous actor could still be negotiated with grace and style and even the stalkers of the stars were well-bred, well-spoken and well-dressed.

At the centre of his own universe sits matinee idol Garry Essendine. While Garry struggles to plan his upcoming trip to Africa, his elegant London flat is invaded by a love struck ingénue, an adulterous producer and a married seductress, not to mention Garry’s estranged wife and a crazed young playwright. The day begins with yet another heartbroken fan who has fallen in love with him the night before and he just can’t seem to get rid of her. His not-quite ex-wife Liz arrives – they never got around to getting that divorce – to have a talk with him about his philandering ways. She’s not fooled by his charming persona, “He’s not nearly as flamboyant as he pretends to be, he’s just incapable of saying ‘no’ or ‘goodbye’” and she thinks it’s time he faces the truth: “You are no longer a debonair, irresponsible juvenile.  You are an eminent man advancing, with every sign of reluctance, into middle age.”

And just when that problem is solved, another admirer arrives.  This time it’s Roland Maule, an earnest young playwright who thinks it’s about time Garry act in something a bit more serious. Garry is polite at first, giving him his advice on how to write a successful play – but this angry young man thinks it’s Garry that needs to learn something about real theatre. Once he’s been seen out the door, it’s Morris and Hugo who come to call. There are rumours of a possible affair between Garry’s steadfast associate, Morris, and the femme fatale, Joanna, who is married to his producer, Hugo.  Garry fears this may tear apart their friendships.  So naturally, Joanna comes to call later that night and naturally, she too is in love with him.

So for all of the accusations flung at Garry for being too glib, too charming and too attached to attracting admirers, what we see is the celebrity as almost the sanest one of all in the midst of his crazy friends and fans. He’s the most sensible about sex because, as he says, everyone else likes to wallow and be miserable about it all, and he knows how to take it lightly and have fun.  And audiences will have fun watching him manage them all with style and flair.  Directed by David Schurmann, with Steven Sutcliffe as Garry Essendine, Claire Jullien as Liz, Mary Haney as Garry’s secretary Monica and Moya O’Connell as Joanna.