Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford – until 2nd March 2019
Reviewed by Antonia Hebbert
4****
Sir Hugo Latymer is a rich, respected author. He lives in a luxurious Swiss hotel with a nice view. He is also a grumpy old thing, but he has married his saintly secretary, so he has someone to answer the phone and gracefully manage his rudeness.
When the play starts, he is fretting. An old flame is about to visit. Is she angry about the way she appears in his autobiography, or is she after money? But when she arrives, old flame Carlotta turns out to be rich and self-possessed. She wants something, but it isn’t clear what. Meanwhile, wife Hilde goes out for the evening, and in the background the waiter smoothly comes and goes.
By this time you are well into the first half of the play, and are wondering where it’s going. It’s all little jibes and sparring, but with no clear direction. Then Carlotta drops her bombshell and we begin to understand Sir Hugo better.
Simon Callow (Sir Hugo) does a fine job of being a fundamentally unhappy man who hasn’t been true to himself and takes out his misery on those around him. Jessica Turner is the lovely Hilde, who keeps her dignity despite the constant barrage of surly comments from Sir Hugo. They are utterly persuasive as one of those couples that are very close while not seeming to get on well together. Jane Asher doesn’t quite sparkle as Carlotta. She has the right mix of coolness and fieriness, but just seems a little awkward. Trite as I am, I felt she had a footwear problem. Things got better once she kicked off those shoes and could move with full natural grace.
This is a late play by Noel Coward. If the name suggests an evening of dazzling wit and repartee, you won’t find it here. But it does become intriguing, as Carlotta remorselessly digs out the truth, and Hilde turns out to be more complicated than a sweet doormat. It is one of a trio that Coward wrote when he had gone out of fashion and become a tax exile (Bermuda then Switzerland). The play draws on real experiences of outwardly brilliant, successful people who felt they had to live a lie.
Simon Higlett’s handsome hotel room design, with lake view, is so realistic that I found myself being slightly distracted by the moon not rising as it should have done in the sky. Drinks are poured and a meal is served very convincingly – special mention here for Ash Rizi, who is a delight to watch as Felix the waiter, discreetly going about his work. He is important too, as the character that links together the three plays in Coward’s trio. The director is Stephen Unwin.
Three stars for the rather laboured first half, but four for the second.