Coward Plays: 7

The Seventh volume in the Coward Collection. On Quadrille. : "Miss Fontanne plays the madcap Marchioness with the crackle and sheen of a five-pound note. Her eyes mock marvelously, her voice cuts like a knife into a wedding cake, and the scene in Act Three, on the eve of her elopement with Mr. Lung, is as delicious as crushed ice. " Evening Standard. , 1952. "The idea of Peace in Our Time. ", Coward wrote "was conceived in Paris shortly after the Liberation. I began to suspect that the physical effect of four years intermittent bombing is far less damaging to the intrinsic character of a nation than the spiritual effect of four years enemy occupation. " The volume also contains four pieces from the Tonight at 8. 30. sequence: We Were Dancing. "provides a marvelously compact illustration of the way the English public school spirit prevails even in moments of strenuous passion. " "Shadow Play. is a musical fantasy. which gave Gertie and me a chance to sing as romantically as we could, dance in the moonlight and, we hoped, convince the audience that we were very fascinating indeed"; and "Family Album. - a sly satire on Victorian hypocrisy, adorned with an unobtrusive but agreeable musical score. It was stylised both in its decor and its performance, was a joy to play and provided the whole talented company with good parts. " Star Chamber. , closely based on Coward's experiences trying to co-ordinate his Actors' Orphanage charity committee, is published here for the first time.