STORY-TRÅD·noje

Present Laughter review – gender-switched Coward comedy dazzles in 70s New York

Theatre Royal BathAntihero actor Garry becomes a magnificent new kind of beast as Gerri, played with blistering hilarity by Tracy-Ann ObermanThe reputation of Noël Coward’s plays has involved escaping restrictions: his recorded clipped, waspish tone in key roles and a perception that, at a time when gay men’s careers and lives were at risk, the dramatist could not be socially and emotionally truthful.Seven years ago, in an Old Vic revival of Coward’s 1942 off-stage comedy Present Laughter, Andrew Scott – as actor Garry Essendine, a gorgon of priapic self-importance – memorably banished the parodic playing style and probed forbidden subtext. Changing Joanna, one of Garry’s love interests, into Joe made characters bisexual or in sham marriages. Continue reading...