By Maisie Jennings
On Monday night, I had the pleasure of watching DUCT’s production of Noël Coward’s Hay Fever, a century after its first performance in 1925. Hay Fever forms the sticky, hazardous web spun around the eccentric Bliss family, and each of their four guests who are inevitably tangled up in it. Coward’s script blends high farce, slapstick comedy, and a sharp, winking satire directed at the British upper-class – all wielded deftly by director Abby Greenhalgh and the play’s sparkling cast and crew.
Taking my seat in the Assembly Rooms Theatre, I was struck by the cleverness of the set, effortlessly curated to emulate the jaunty untidiness of a bourgeois-bohemian family home. There are ornate lamps, a silver tea set, a piano – relics of Coward’s contemporary staging, but not anachronistic amongst more modern elements. The effect is wonderfully timeless – perhaps another convention eschewed by the Blisses. This is further emulated in the character’s costuming; a mash-up of jeans, linen shirts, slinky evening gowns, and a fabulous string of pearls allow the play some temporal movement, whilst retaining the careless, offhand nature of the Bliss’ old money fashion. When siblings Sorel (Martha Buttle) and Simon (Samuel Bentley) languidly move about the stage, foppishly draped on sofas, and waxing lyrical about vaguely artistic nonsense, their movements are organic and instinctive. Even as their spats intensify, there is very little loss of this sense of authenticity. As Sorel, Buttle is razor-sharp, energetically firing disdain towards the other characters with a bored precision. Bentley’s presence as Simon is just as lively – his snarky retorts and scornful asides are particularly funny moments scattered through the course of the play.
It must be said that Alannah O’Hare’s portrayal of Bliss matriarch and retired actress, Judith, is a delight. She sweeps across the stage, demanding cigarettes and vigorously reenacting the stardom of her youth. Her vocal inflections are perfectly extravagant – a stunningly bad, breathy rendition of ‘Frère Jacques’ in the second act is particularly hilarious. David, her husband, played by Ben Oliver, has a more understated presence on stage. The minutiae of his gestures, body language, and vocal choices are affected, somewhat preoccupied, and more softly flamboyant. Judith and David exchange love and contempt like canapés for their guests; indeed, the guests themselves are also passed around in a strange game of sexual competition. Fun for all the family?
The guests are also skilful actors, working with more subtle characterisation. Liv Fancourt is stellar as Jackie Coryton – airy, giggly, and startled. The painfully awkward small-talk between Jackie and Richard (Oscar Dunfield Prayero) particularly stands out. Both characters struggle under the restraint of manners, desperately trying to make polite conversation amidst the midsummer madness. Myra Arundel (Maariya Khalid) is cool, charming, and a challenge to the whims and commands of the Bliss household. She, too, has mastered the art of subtle, biting wit hidden beneath seemingly innocuous remarks. Sandy Tyrrell (Cillian Knowles) provides a grounding presence within the play’s havoc; he is endearing, naive, and hilariously steals toast from the Bliss’ breakfast tray. The breakfast tray, I must add, is carried about the stage by Cara Crofts as the Bliss’ French maid, Clara. Croft’s accent is mostly convincing, and she busies around the set breezily.
The cast and crew of Hay Fever truly extract the very best qualities of Coward’s text and the result is wonderfully silly. I think it’s always a joy to see actors really having fun with their roles – the cast relished every line, and, meeting them with near constant laughter, so did the audience.