This is a list of works and appearances by the English playwright, actor, singer and songwriter Noël Coward.
Stage works
Title | Description | Written | Premiere |
---|---|---|---|
The Last Chapter | One-act comedy | 1917 | 1917 |
Woman and Whisky | One-act play | 1918 | 1918 |
The Rat Trap | Play in four acts | 1918 | 1926 |
I'll Leave It to You | Light comedy in three acts | 1919 | 1920 |
The Young Idea | Comedy of youth in three acts | 1921 | 1922 |
Sirocco | Play in three acts | 1921 | 1927 |
The Better Half | Comedy in one act | 1921 | 1922 |
The Queen Was in the Parlour | Play in three acts | 1922 | 1926 |
Mild Oats | Play in one act | 1922 | Unknown |
London Calling! | Revue | 1922–23 | 1923 |
Weatherwise | Comedy in two scenes | 1923 | 1932 |
Fallen Angels | Comedy in three acts | 1923 | 1925 |
The Vortex | Play in three acts | 1923 | 1924 |
Hay Fever | Comedy in three acts | 1924 | 1925 |
Easy Virtue | Play in three acts | 1924 | 1925 |
On with the Dance | Revue | 1924–25 | 1925 |
Semi-Monde | Play in three acts | 1926 | 1977 |
This Was a Man | Comedy in three acts | 1926 | 1926 |
The Marquise | Comedy in three acts | 1926 | 1927 |
Home Chat | Play in three acts | 1927 | 1927 |
This Year of Grace | Revue | 1927–28 | 1928 |
Bitter Sweet | Operetta | 1928–29 | 1929 |
Private Lives | Intimate comedy in three acts | 1929 | 1930 |
Post-Mortem | Play in eight scenes | 1930 | 1992 |
Cavalcade | Play in three parts | 1930–31 | 1931 |
Words and Music | Revue | 1932 | 1932 |
Design For Living | Comedy in three acts | 1932 | 1933 |
Conversation Piece | Romantic comedy with music | 1933 | 1934 |
Point Valaine | Play in three acts | 1934 | 1934 |
Tonight at 8.30 Cycle of ten short plays, presented in groups of three: |
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We Were Dancing | Comedy in two scenes | 1935 | 1935 |
The Astonished Heart | Play in six scenes | 1935 | 1935 |
Red Peppers | Interlude with music | 1935 | 1935 |
Hands Across the Sea | Light comedy in one scene | 1935 | 1935 |
Fumed Oak | Unpleasant comedy in two scenes | 1935 | 1935 |
Shadow Play | Play with music | 1935 | 1935 |
Family Album | Victorian comedy with music | 1935 | 1935 |
Star Chamber | Light comedy in one act | 1936 | 1936 |
Ways and Means | Comedy in three scenes | 1936 | 1936 |
Still Life | Play in five scenes | 1936 | 1936 |
Operette | Musical play | 1937 | 1938 |
Set to Music | Revue | 1938 | 1939 |
Present Laughter | Play in three acts | 1939 | 1942 |
This Happy Breed | Play in three acts | 1939 | 1942 |
Blithe Spirit | Play in three acts | 1941 | 1941 |
Sigh No More | Revue | 1945 | 1945 |
Pacific 1860 | Musical romance | 1946 | 1946 |
Peace In Our Time | Play in two acts | 1946 | 1947 |
Long Island Sound | Comedy of manners in two acts | 1947 | 1989 |
Ace of Clubs | Musical play | 1949 | 1950 |
South Sea Bubble | Comedy in three acts | 1949 | 1951 |
Relative Values | Light comedy in three acts | 1951 | 1951 |
Quadrille | Romantic comedy in three acts | 1951–52 | 1952 |
After the Ball | Musical play | 1953 | 1954 |
Nude with Violin | Comedy in three acts | 1954 | 1956 |
Volcano | Play in two acts | 1957 | 2002 |
Look After Lulu! | Three-act farce adapted from Georges Feydeau | 1958 | 1959 |
Waiting in the Wings | Play in three acts | 1959–60 | 1960 |
Sail Away | Musical comedy | 1959–60 | 1961 |
The Girl Who Came to Supper | Musical comedy | 1963 | 1963 |
Suite in Three Keys Trilogy comprising: |
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A Song at Twilight | Play in two scenes | 1965 | 1966 |
Shadows of the Evening | Play in two scenes | 1965 | 1966 |
Come Into the Garden, Maud | Play in two scenes | 1965 | 1966 |
Star Quality | Comedy in three acts | 1967 | 1985 |
Cowardy Custard | Revue | Various | 1972 |
Oh, Coward! | Revue | Various | 1972 |
Stage appearances
London, except where stated otherwise
Year | Role | Venue |
---|---|---|
1911 | Prince Mussel in The Goldfish by Lila Field | Little, Royal Court Theatre, Crystal Palace |
Cannard in The Great Name by Charles Hawtrey | Prince of Wales | |
William in Where the Rainbow Ends by Clifford Mills and John Ramsey | Savoy | |
1912 | Mushroom in An Autumn Idyll by Ruby Ginner | Savoy |
The Boy in A Little Fowl Play, by Harold Owen | London Coliseum | |
William in Where the Rainbow Ends | Garrick | |
1913 | An Angel in Hannele by Gerhart Hauptmann | Liverpool Playhouse and Gaiety, Manchester |
Tommy in War in the Air by Frank Dupree | London Palladium | |
Understudy for Reginald Sheffield as Buster in Never Say Die by W. H. Post | Apollo | |
Charity matinee of A Little Fowl Play | London Opera House | |
Slightly in Peter Pan, by J. M. Barrie | Duke of York's | |
1914 | Toured as Slightly in Peter Pan | |
1915 | Slightly in Peter Pan | Duke of York's |
The Slacker in Where the Rainbow Ends | Garrick | |
1916 | Charles Wykeham in Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas | tour |
Basil Pyecroft in The Light Blues, by Mark Ambient and Jack Hulbert (and understudy to Hulbert) | Shaftesbury | |
Professional dancer with Eileen Denis at the Elysée restaurant | ||
Jack Morrison in The Happy Family, by Cecil Aldin and Adrian Ross | Prince of Wales | |
1917 | Leicester Boyd in Wild Heather, by Dorothy Brandon | Gaiety, Manchester |
Ripley Guildford in The Saving Grace, by Haddon Chambers | Garrick | |
1918 | Courtney Bourner in Scandal by Cosmond Harrison | Strand |
1919 | Ralph in The Knight of the Burning Pestle, by Francis Beaumont | Birmingham Repertory |
1920 | Bobbie Dermott in his own play, I'll Leave It to You | Gaiety Manchester and New |
Ralph in The Knight of the Burning Pestle | Kingsway | |
1921 | Clay Collins in Polly with a Past, by George Middleton and Guy Bolton | St James's |
1922 | Sholto Brent in his own play, The Young Idea | Prince's Theatre, Bristol, and tour |
1923 | Sholto Brent | Savoy |
Appeared in London Calling! (of which he was co-author) | Duke of York's | |
1924 | Nicky Lancaster in his own play, The Vortex | Everyman Hampstead and Royalty |
1925 | Nicky Lancaster | Comedy, Little, Henry Miller's, New York |
1926 | Lewis Dodd in The Constant Nymph , by Margaret Kennedy and Basil Dean | New |
1928 | Clark Storey in The Second Man, by S. N. Behrman | Playhouse Theatre |
Appeared in his own revue, This Year of Grace | Baltimore, and Selwyn Theatre, New York | |
1930 | Captain Stanhope in Journey's End, by R. C. Sherriff | Victoria. Singapore |
Elyot Chase in his own play Private Lives | Tour and Phoenix. | |
Fred in his own sketch Some Other Private Lives (charity matinee) | Hippodrome | |
1931 | Elyot Chase in Private Lives | Times Square, New York |
1933 | Leo in his own play, Design for Living | Hanna Cleveland and Ethel Barrymore, New York |
1934 | Paul, Duc de Chaucigny-Varennes, in his own operetta, Conversation Piece | His Majesty's |
1935 | Pre-London tour in his own one-act plays, Tonight at 8.30 | |
1936 | Appeared in the ten plays of Tonight at 8.30 | Phoenix |
Appeared in the same plays (with the exception of Star Chamber) | National, New York | |
1942 | Charles Condomine in his own play, Blithe Spirit. | St James's |
Toured in "Noël Coward's Play Parade" as Charles Condomine and as Garry Essendine and Frank Gibbons in his own plays, Present Laughter and This Happy Breed | ||
1943 | Garry Essendine in Present Laughter and Frank Gibbons in This Happy Breed | Haymarket |
1945 | Two performances in his own revue, Sigh No More. | Piccadilly |
1947 | Garry Essendine in revival of Present Laughter | Haymarket |
1948 | Three performances in Tonight at 8.30 (Hands Across the Sea, Shadow Play and Fumed Oak) during US tour. | |
Appeared as Max Aramont in Joyeux Chagrins, the French translation of his Present Laughter | Théâtre Édouard VII, Paris | |
1951 | Concert, performing his own songs as try-out for London season (below) | Theatre Royal, Brighton |
Solo cabaret season (October) | Café de Paris | |
1952 | Two cabaret performances with Mary Martin in aid of the Actors' Orphanage (January and November) | Café de Paris |
Second solo cabaret season (June) | Café de Paris | |
1953 | King Magnus in The Apple Cart, by Bernard Shaw | Haymarket |
Third London solo cabaret season | Café de Paris | |
Appeared in Stars at Midnight, one-off performance in aid of the Actors' Orphanage | Palladium | |
1954 | Introduced Marlene Dietrich's cabaret act | Café de Paris |
Appeared in Night of 100 Stars, in aid of the Actors' Orphanage | Palladium | |
Fourth and final London solo cabaret season | Café de Paris | |
Appeared at the Royal Variety Performance | Palladium | |
1955 | Solo cabaret season at the Desert Inn, Las Vegas | |
1956 | Narrated Ogden Nash's verses for Carnival of the Animals | Carnegie Hall, New York |
1957 | Sebastien in his own Nude with Violin | Tour and Belasco Theatre New York and second tour |
1958 | Garry Essendine in Present Laughter | Belasco Theatre and tour |
Appeared in Night of 100 Stars, in aid of the Actors' Orphanage | Palladium | |
Appeared in gala cabaret in Nice | ||
1966 | Appeared in his own Suite in Three Keys as Sir Hugo Latymer (A Song at Twilight), George Hilgay (Shadows of the Evening) and Verner Conklin (Come Into the Garden, Maud) | Queen's |
- Source: Mander and Mitchenson.
Songs
Coward wrote more than three hundred songs. The Noël Coward Society's website, drawing on performing statistics from the publishers and the Performing Rights Society, names "Mad About the Boy" (from Words and Music) as Coward's most popular song, followed, in order, by:
- "I'll See You Again" (Bitter Sweet)
- "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" (Words and Music)
- "If Love Were All" (Bitter Sweet)
- "Someday I'll Find You" (Private Lives)
- "I'll Follow My Secret Heart" (Conversation Piece)
- "London Pride" (1941)
- "A Room With a View" (This Year of Grace)
- "Mrs Worthington" (1934)
- "Poor Little Rich Girl" (On with the Dance)
- "The Stately Homes of England" (Operette)
In the society's second tier of favourites are:
- "The Party's Over Now" (Words and Music)
- "Dearest Love" (Operette)
- "Dear Little Café" (Bitter Sweet)
- "Parisian Pierrot" (London Calling!)
- "Men About Town" (Tonight at 8.30)
- "Twentieth Century Blues" (Cavalcade)
- "Uncle Harry" (Pacific 1860)
- "Don't Let's Be Beastly to the Germans" (1943)
- "There Are Bad Times Just Around the Corner" (Globe Review)
- "Dance, Little Lady" (This Year of Grace)
- "Has Anybody Seen Our Ship?" (Tonight at 8.30)
- "I Went to a Marvellous Party" (Set to Music)
- "Nina" (Sigh No More)
- "A Bar on the Piccola Marina" (1954)
- "Why Must the Show Go On?" (Together With Music)
- "Sail Away" (Ace of Clubs and Sail Away)
- "Zigeuner" (Bitter Sweet)
Cinema
Adaptations and original films
- The Queen Was in the Parlour, directed by Graham Cutts (UK, 1927, based on the play of the same name)
- Easy Virtue, directed by Alfred Hitchcock (UK, 1928, based on the play of the same name)
- The Vortex, directed by Adrian Brunel (UK, 1928, based on the play of the same name)
- Private Lives, directed by Sidney Franklin, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1931, based on the play of the same name)
- Tonight Is Ours, directed by Stuart Walker, Paramount (1933, based on the play The Queen Was in the Parlour)
- Cavalcade, directed by Frank Lloyd, 20th Century Fox (1933, based on the play of the same name)
- Bitter Sweet, directed by Herbert Wilcox (UK, 1933, based on the operetta of the same name)
- Design for Living, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, Paramount (1933, based on the play of the same name)
- Les amants terribles (The Terrible Lovers), directed by Marc Allégret (France, 1936, based on the play Private Lives)
- Bitter Sweet, directed by W. S. Van Dyke, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1940, based on the operetta of the same name)
- In Which We Serve, original film, directed by Coward and David Lean, British Lion (1942). Screenplay by Coward.
- We Were Dancing, directed by Robert Z. Leonard, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1942, based on the plays We Were Dancing, Ways and Means and Private Lives)
- This Happy Breed, directed by David Lean, Universal (UK, 1944, based on the play of the same name) (Coward was also a producer)
- Blithe Spirit, directed by David Lean (UK, 1945, based on the play of the same name) (Coward was also a producer)
- Brief Encounter, directed by David Lean (UK, 1945, based on the play Still Life) (Coward was also a screenwriter and producer)
- The Astonished Heart, directed by Terence Fisher (UK, 1950, based on the play of the same name) (Coward was also a screenwriter)
- Meet Me Tonight, directed by Anthony Pelissier (UK, 1952, based on the plays Ways and Means, Red Peppers, and Fumed Oak)
- Pretty Polly, directed by Guy Green (UK, 1967, based on the short story Pretty Polly Barlow)
- Brief Encounter, directed by Alan Bridges (UK, 1974, based on the play Still Life)
- Relative Values, directed by Eric Styles (UK, 2000, based on the play of the same name)
- Easy Virtue, directed by Stephan Elliott (UK, 2008, based on the play of the same name)
Actor
- Hearts of the World (1918) (uncredited)
- The Scoundrel (1935) as Anthony Mallare
- Men Are Not Gods (1936) (uncredited)
- In Which We Serve (1942) as Captain E.V. Kinross (also a screenwriter, producer and co-director)
- Blithe Spirit (1945) (uncredited narrator) (also producer)
- Brief Encounter (1945) (uncredited narrator) (also a screenwriter and co-producer)
- The Astonished Heart (1950) as Dr. Christian Faber
- Blithe Spirit (1956 TV film) as Charles Condomine
- Around the World in 80 Days (1956) as Roland Hesketh-Baggott
- Our Man in Havana (1959) as Hawthorne
- Surprise Package (1960) as King Pavel II
- Paris When It Sizzles (1964) as Alexander Meyerheim
- Ninety Years On (1964 TV film) as Narrator / Host
- Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965) as Horatio Wilson
- Androcles and the Lion (1967 TV film) as Caesar
- Boom! (1968) as The Witch of Capri
- The Italian Job (1969) as Mr. Bridger
Notes, references and sources
Notes
- Co-written with Esmé Wynne under their joint pen name, Esnomel.
- The title was changed to Ida Collaborates during the run.
- Co-written with Wynne.
- ^ One of five plays written early in Coward's career but not produced until, after his successes beginning with The Vortex and Hay Fever, producers were willing to stage them.
- Revised in 1927.
- Originally called Nadya, then Souvenir.
- Mander and Mitchenson describe the play as unperformed, but newspaper archives record occasional performances from 1934 onwards. It is unclear if any of these were given by a professional company.
- Co-written with Ronald Jeans.
- Mainly by Coward, with some music by Philip Braham.
- Originally titled Ritz Bar.
- Titled Charles B. Cochran's 1928 Revue at its try-out in Manchester.
- Originally titled Sari Linden.
- It was first presented in a prisoner of war camp in Germany in 1944 and was given other amateur productions, but its first professional production was in 1992.
- A revised edition of Words and Music for Broadway.
- Originally titled Sweet Sorrow.
- Because of the outbreak of the Second World War, the 1939 production was cancelled; when Coward returned to acting in 1942, the play was finally produced.
- Based on Coward's 1939 short story What Mad Pursuit?
- Originally titled Island Fling for its world premiere in the US and later titled Home and Colonial.
- Originally titled Moxie.
- Based on Lady Windermere's Fan.
- Originally described as an operetta.
- A single "rehearsed reading" was given in June 1989 at The Mill, Sonning. Mark Shenton called a 2012 production in the West End the first "major" production of the play, and Michael Billington wrote that, until the 2012 production, it had been "unproduced".
- Based on The Sleeping Prince.
- Adapted by Coward from his 1951 short story of the same name.
- This was an anthology of Coward's words and music from the 1920s to the 1960s.
- A second Coward anthology.
- In Coward's day the play was thought to be a collaboration between Beaumont and John Fletcher: Coward, who found the play boring, was uncomplimentary about both playwrights.
- For two weeks, to give the regular player of the part, Cecil Parker, a holiday during the long run.
- The regular player, Cyril Ritchard, was ill.
- Covering while the regular player, Graham Payn, was ill. This was the last time Coward appeared onstage with Gertrude Lawrence.
References
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p. 25
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p. 26
- Morley (1974), pp. 111 (The Rat Trap); 77 (Sirocco); 106 (The Queen Was in the Parlour); and 92 (Fallen Angels); and Mander and Mitchenson, p. 81 (Weatherwise)
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 28
- "I'll Leave It to You", The Times, 22 July 1920, p. 10; and Mander and Mitchenson, p. 36
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 43
- "Daly's Theatre", The Times, 25 November 1927, p. 14
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p. 52
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 62
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 65
- Ervine, St John. "At the Play", The Observer, 29 August 1926, p. 9; and Mander and Mitchenson, p. 65
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 584
- "Mild Oats to Be Given Before Theatre Guild", The Palm Beach Post, 2 October 1934, p. 6; "Today at the Theaters", The Ithaca Journal, 11 April 1936, p. 2
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p. 74
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 81
- "Globe Theatre", The Times, 22 April 1925, p. 12; and Mander and Mitchenson, p. 83
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 92
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 103
- "Duke of York's Theatre", The Times, 10 June 1926, p. 14; and Mander and Mitchenson, p. 114
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 128
- "On with the Dance", The Times, 1 May 1925, p. 12
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p. 140
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 144
- "Criterion Theatre", The Times, 17 February 1927, p. 12; and Mander and Mitchenson, p. 156
- "Duke of York's Theatre", The Times, 26 October 1927, p. 12; and Mander and Mitchenson, p. 166
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p. 171
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 183
- "Bitter Sweet", The Times, 19 July 1929, p. 12
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 208
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 219
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 228
- "Mr Coward's Revue", The Times, 17 September 1932, p. 8; and Mander and Mitchenson, p. 240
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 249
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 260
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 271
- ^ "Theatres", The Manchester Guardian, 16 October 1935, p. 11; and "To-night at 8.30", The Times, 20 August 1935, p. 10
- "Theatres", The Manchester Guardian, 19 October 1935, p. 15; and Mander and Mitchenson, p. 297
- "Theatres", The Manchester Guardian, 19 October 1935, p. 15; and Mander and Mitchenson, p. 300
- "Theatres", The Manchester Guardian, 19 October 1935, p. 15; and Mander and Mitchenson, p. 303
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 306
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 308
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 311
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 313
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 326
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 245
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 339
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p. 345
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p. 357
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 366
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 378
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 384
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 395
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p. 577
- ^ "Plays", Noël Coward Archive Trust. Retrieved 20 March 2020
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 419
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p. 407
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p. 430
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 440
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p. 450
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 452
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 460
- Shenton, Mark. , Playbill, 17 July 2012
- Billington, Michael. "Volcano – Review", The Guardian, 17 August 2012
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 469
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 481
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 489
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p. 500
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p. 513
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p. 530
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson, p 534
- "Knight of the Burning Pestle, The", The Oxford Companion to English Literature, Oxford University Press, 2009 Retrieved 31 March 2020 (subscription required)
- Castle, p. 38
- Lesley, p. 230
- Mander and Mitchenson, p. 381
- Morley, p. 260
- Mander and Mitchenson, Appendix 4, pp. 590–593
- "Appendix 3 (The Relative Popularity of Coward's Works)", Noël Coward Music Index, accessed 29 November 2015
- Contemporary Authors Online, Thomson Gale, 2004, accessed 30 December 2008: requires subscription; and Noel Coward at the IMDB database, accessed 12 March 2009
Sources
- Castle, Charles (1972). Noël. London: W H Allen. ISBN 978-0-491-00534-0.
- Hoare, Philip (1995). Noël Coward, A Biography. London: Sinclair-Stevenson. ISBN 978-1-4081-0675-4.
- Lesley, Cole (1976). The Life of Noël Coward. London: Cape. ISBN 978-0-224-01288-1.
- Mander, Raymond; Mitchenson, Joe; Day, Barry Day; Morley, Sheridan (2000) . Theatrical Companion to Coward (second ed.). London: Oberon. ISBN 978-1-84002-054-0.
- Morley, Sheridan (1974) . A Talent to Amuse. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-003863-7.