Present Laughter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Present Laughter is a comedic play written by Noel Coward and first staged in 1939 as part of a double bill with his lower middle-class domestic drama This Happy Breed; in 1941 the double bill was expanded to include Coward's new play Blithe Spirit. Coward himself starred in Present Laughter during the original run; later productions have featured actors such as Simon Callow and Ian McKellen in the lead role. The play has enjoyed numerous revivals - including one in 1956 with Coward himself reprising the Essendine role - and is currently published in Methuen's Noel Coward: Collected Plays Volume Four.
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[edit] The plot
The plot, which has often been regarded as being semi-autobiographical, follows a few days in the life of successful and self-obsessed actor Garry Essendine as he prepares to travel for a touring commitment. Amid a series of events bordering on farce, Garry must deal with interruptions from numerous women who want to seduce him (including the stagestruck youth Daphne and the devious Joanna), placate his long-suffering secretary Monica, avoid his estranged wife Liz, be confronted by a crazed young playwright named Roland Maule, and overcome his fear of his own approaching fortieth birthday and suggested impending mid-life crisis. Essendine is very rarely off-stage, and the role contains some excellent monologues and dramatic scenes which help make one of the most appealing Coward roles for an actor.
[edit] Origin of the title
The play's title comes from a song in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, which urges carpe diem ("present mirth hath present laughter"). Given Essendine's frequent (and frequently overblown) concerns over his own aging and mortality, the title can certainly be seen as ironic.
[edit] Later productions
The play has been regularly revived. Notable players of the role of Garry Essendine include Nigel Patrick (1965), Albert Finney (1977), Peter O'Toole (1978), Donald Sinden (1981), Tom Conti (1993), Peter Bowles (1996), Ian McKellen (1998), Rik Mayall (2003), James Knight (2006), and Simon Callow (2006). As many of the star actors have been significantly older than the fortyish Garry when they played the part the text has sometimes been changed to refer to his imminent fiftieth birthday.
[edit] Broadway history
After its debut in 1939, it first appeared on stage in the United States on October 29, 1946, when it debuted at the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway. It featured Clifton Webb as Essendine. It closed in March of the following year after only 158 performances.
It enjoyed a brief six-show run in 1958 at the Belasco Theatre in repertory, with Coward again as Garry and Eva Gabor as Joanna.
In 1982, George C. Scott directed and starred in a revival at Circle in the Square Theatre, which featured the Broadway debut of Nathan Lane as Roland Maule. It also featured Kate Burton as Daphne, Christine Lahti as Joanna and Jim Piddock as Fred. It ran for 175 performances.
The latest revival was in 1996, when Frank Langella starred as Essendine and Allison Janney played Liz. This also ran for 175 performances at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
