Tickets are selling fast for the first ever UK professional production of Noel Coward’s satirical play, This Was a Man.
Dedicated to the playwright's manager and lover, Jack Wilson , it is the story of a husband and wife’s failing marriage. Whilst husband Edward wishes to gloss over the matter, his best friend, an army major, confronts the adulterous Zoe — only making matters worse. It is another of Coward’s great comic commentaries on the surface-happiness of society, with similarities to his often revived The Vortex and Easy Virtue . Full of devastating one liners, there is wit and tragedy aplenty in this 1920s work, such as Zoe's particularly damning declaration, “I must say, I consider marriage an over-rated amusement.”
An advisor to England’s Lord Chamberlain claimed that "the Soviets could use Coward’s depiction of rampant British adultery as propagandist proof of Western decadence". And as such, this play was banned in the UK and had to premiere in New York. This is the first time it has ever been professionally produced in this country.
The Finborough’s last Coward production, The Rat Race in 2006 (directed by Tim Luscombe) was met with critical acclaim. This summer, Belinda Lang will direct This was a Man; a veteran of Coward plays, she has appeared in half a dozen as an actress and made a striking directing debut with Present Laughter in 2010 at The Vaudeville Theatre. The cast includes RSC actor Robert Portal, who recently impressed on the big screen Oscar-winning film The King's Speech and RADA-trained Jamie De Courcey, who appeared in hit film Rush.
Sir Noel Coward was a hugely prolific playwright, lyricist, actor and overall renaissance man. He lived a flamboyant Oscar Wildean lifestyle, with theatre at its heart. His writing pushed the boundaries by stripping back the mask of the middle-classes to reveal sensuality, passion and amorality. This is an opportunity to see one of Coward’s earlier plays, finally brought back to life by the Finborough for British audiences.
Dedicated to the playwright's manager and lover, Jack Wilson , it is the story of a husband and wife’s failing marriage. Whilst husband Edward wishes to gloss over the matter, his best friend, an army major, confronts the adulterous Zoe — only making matters worse. It is another of Coward’s great comic commentaries on the surface-happiness of society, with similarities to his often revived The Vortex and Easy Virtue . Full of devastating one liners, there is wit and tragedy aplenty in this 1920s work, such as Zoe's particularly damning declaration, “I must say, I consider marriage an over-rated amusement.”
An advisor to England’s Lord Chamberlain claimed that "the Soviets could use Coward’s depiction of rampant British adultery as propagandist proof of Western decadence". And as such, this play was banned in the UK and had to premiere in New York. This is the first time it has ever been professionally produced in this country.
The Finborough’s last Coward production, The Rat Race in 2006 (directed by Tim Luscombe) was met with critical acclaim. This summer, Belinda Lang will direct This was a Man; a veteran of Coward plays, she has appeared in half a dozen as an actress and made a striking directing debut with Present Laughter in 2010 at The Vaudeville Theatre. The cast includes RSC actor Robert Portal, who recently impressed on the big screen Oscar-winning film The King's Speech and RADA-trained Jamie De Courcey, who appeared in hit film Rush.
Sir Noel Coward was a hugely prolific playwright, lyricist, actor and overall renaissance man. He lived a flamboyant Oscar Wildean lifestyle, with theatre at its heart. His writing pushed the boundaries by stripping back the mask of the middle-classes to reveal sensuality, passion and amorality. This is an opportunity to see one of Coward’s earlier plays, finally brought back to life by the Finborough for British audiences.
| What | This Was a Man, Finborough Theatre |
| Where | Finborough Theatre, 118 Finborough Road, London, SW10 9ED | MAP |
| Nearest tube | West Brompton (underground) |
| When |
15 Jul 14 – 02 Aug 14, 12:00 AM |
| Price | £16 |
| Website | click here to book via Ticket Web |
