STAR QUALITY by Noel Coward. Apollo Theatre.

London

STAR QUALITY
by Noel Coward, adapted by Christopher Luscombe

Apollo Theatre
Runs 2hr 5min One interval

TICKETS 020 7494 5070
Review Timothy Ramsden 1 November 2001

'All gong and no dinner' - Coward's Star Quality line just about sums it up.No sooner has a West End revival of Private Lives shown concealed depths in a famous Coward comedy than along comes his 1966 adaptation of a 1950 story (further worked over by its director) to re-fluff the Coward cushions. It is perfectly delightful entertainment for people who are easily delighted perfectly, in a post-Palm Court sort of way.

It's not Coward's fault that the backstage odyssey of a new play has now been charted far more imaginatively in Michael Frayn's Noises Off. But the scene from author Bryan Snow's Dark Heritage hardly indicates him as the rising dramatic star he needs to be to attract both old-school leading lady and new-type intellectual director. That's no reflection on Nick Fletcher's performance, all reasonable co-operation and suppressed surprise at the theatrical world.

And Russell Boulter's director grows more convincing as the evening proceeds. But the major confrontation between director and star, over casting, is far too shallow.

None of her fans will be disappointed by Penelope Keith's incarnation of the old-style, ever-glamorous leading lady. Working within her familiar range Keith provides a perfectly orchestrated, rhythmically precise sinfonietta of vocal swirls, radiant smiles, stern expressions and glances aside.

Una Stubbs is amusing as Marion Blake, the actor whose limitations spoil the play but help the star shine. Yet Marion is so appalling from the first as to unbalance the later argument about her sacking.

Lorraine may embody the mystery of star quality for Coward, but the performance that quietly radiates acting truth is Marjorie Yates' Nora. This cameo maid and dresser is elevated, from the early moment when she gives dramaturgical tips based on having casually read Bryan's script, into an intelligent individual living a life of comfortably contented servitude.

Christopher Luscombe directs expertly, right up to the show's neat conclusion, but it's Nora who lives on beyond the curtain call more than any of the more prominently painted darlings.

Bryan Snow: Nick Fletcher
Ray Malcolm: Russell Boulter
Nora Mitchell: Marjorie Yates
Lorraine Barrie: Penelope Keith
Bothwell: Jasper
Harry Thornton: Graham Ashe
Beryl Fletcher: Fiz Marcus
Bob Deacon : Andrew Coppin
Eric Larch : Magnus Hastings
Marion Blake : Una Stubbs
Gerald Wentworth: Peter Cellier
Laura Witby : Helen Dorward
Tony Orford : Nick Waring

Director : Christopher Luscombe
Designer : Tim Goodchild
Lighting : Rick Fisher
Sound : Wayne Cross

2001-11-05 01:27:08