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Noel Coward's "Hay Fever" is one of the last plays to open at the Shaw Festival this year. It will also be the last play directed by retiring Artistic Director Christopher Newton.
Coward (1899-1973), one of the great playwrights of the 20th century, was also an actor, singer, songwriter and cabaret entertainer. The original mandate of the Shaw stated only plays by George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) or those of his contemporaries can be produced at the festival. That mandate has recently been changed to include plays written about the period.
Through the years, more of Coward's plays have been produced at the Shaw than anywhere else: "Hay Fever" is the 15th such production in 32 years. Coward's "Cavalcade," presented in 1985-6 and in 1995, has become the Shaw's signature piece. When it is presented again, do not miss it. It's a wonderful, large-scale, poignant production about the turn of the last century.
"Hay Fever," written in 1924, is a comedy. Even Coward himself said that it had little plot or action. Instead, its emphasis is on character, the characters of the wacky Bliss family.
The play opens in the country home of the Bliss family. We are introduced to Judith Bliss, a retired actress (if that's possible), her husband David, a writer of romance novels, and their two grown children, Simon and Sorel. Judith is constantly worrying about her advancing age. Though retired from the stage, in reality, she never left it. And her family seems to be her supporting cast, always involved in one drama or another.
What is reality and what is fiction? That is the problem four houseguests encounter. Each is a guest of a member of the Bliss family, none of whom ever bothered to mention that he or she had invited a guest for the weekend. This is a family that delights in arguments, and the first argument involves which guest will be given the prize room, dubbed the "Japanese Room."
The Blisses are a creative bunch, to say the least. We first meet son Simon as he works on a large portrait. David is busily at work on his latest novel, "Sinful Woman." They are a headstrong, self-centered group and care little about their guests who, in one hilarious final scene, sneak away the next morning.
Acting is excellent. Fiona Reid as Judith Bliss is great, as she swishes dramatically across the stage in flowing dresses and large hats. Mike Shara as Simon Bliss and Severn Thompson as Sorel Bliss are well cast. At first it appears that the latter is the sanest of the group, but as the play progresses, one wonders about her too. Veteran Shaw actor Michael Ball is excellent as the novelist David Bliss. Mary Haney stands out in the small part of Clara, the maid. Her facial expressions alone shift all attention to her character. The four houseguests are beautifully portrayed by Kevin Bundy as Sandy Tyrell, Laurie Paton as Myra Arundel, Davie Schurmann as Richard Greatham, and Lisa Norton as Jackie Coryton. Newton's direction is right on the mark.
Noel Coward's "Hay Fever" makes for a fun evening or afternoon. It remains onstage at the Festival Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake through Nov. 24.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | August 20 2002 |