Present Laughter

CURTAIN UP ON COWARD

Director Sean Foley introduces his latest comedy outing, Present Laughter, and discusses how this play continues to entertain.

‘Present Laughter is, in my view, up there with Private Lives as one of Coward’s two or three masterpieces. It is not just its line-for-line funniness, but its incredible construction. It’s like a piece of Bach. It’s a masterpiece of returning themes and scenes replayed in a slightly different way as the situation of the play advances. That really appeals to me, as I know it will to an audience.’

Having previously acted here in The Critic and I Am Shakespeare and directed The Dresser, Sean Foley returns to Chichester to lend his renowned comedy insight to this classic Coward. Sean’s previous hit West End productions include Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense (Olivier Award for Best Comedy), The Ladykillers and the multi award winning The Play What I Wrote.

‘Present Laughter is about a character who is having a mid-life crisis – and who hasn’t had one of those?! Garry Essendine is a theatrical matinee idol who has constructed for himself a very particular type of personality and through the course of the play comes to realise it doesn’t fit him anymore and he’s got to move on.’

Sean also points out that while Coward wrote the leading role of Garry for himself, the play offers brilliant comic parts for women. ‘I’d say the winner of the evening’s proceedings is Garry’s estranged wife Liz, who is this rather mysterious, very strong willed, very witty woman who is more than a match for him. And then there’s Monica, Garry’s secretary, who’s smarter than him, knows all his slightly schoolboyish ways and can deal with him brilliantly.’

Overall, Sean is confident that this play is as relevant as it has ever been and that Coward’s work remains just as funny as when it was first written. ‘Present Laughter is a play that’s stood the test of time and delighted people for 80 years. Hopefully it will be a tremendously entertaining evening in the theatre.’