If you wanted to define ‘Quintessentially British’, then sooner or later after you’d been through the usual suspects (Beefeaters, cups of tea, endless Jordan autobiographies) you’d soon come to Noel Coward. Famous for some of the wittiest plays ever written, including Private Lives, Blithe Spirit and Design For Living, he was also a fairly considerable singer-songwriter, responsible for such standards as Someday I’ll Find You, Mad Dogs and Englishmen and London Pride.
Yet perhaps because he’s seen as ‘old-fashioned’, his work isn’t performed nearly as often as it ought to be. Therefore, we should all welcome the return of the revue Cowardy Custard, which was first staged in 1972. Of course, portmanteau shows of this nature are quite common now, but this one is infinitely classier and more subtle than the norm, as well as much, much funnier, thanks to the performers, Dillie Keane from Fascinating Aida and the wonderfully witty piano-playing duo Kit and the Widow. It promises to be a stirring, hilarious and even moving romp through Coward’s enviable career.
Kit Hesketh, of Kit and the Widow, says: “The show is such a fantastic introduction to Coward because he was such a rich and varied songwriter and covered everything from heartbreak to really funny stuff. Coward was just brilliant and I don’t think there has been his equal before or since. It was not just a case of combining his talents as an actor and playwright, but he was also a composer, lyricist, spy, man about town and a brilliant diarist. People said that his was a typical upper class, right-wing, out-of-date Englishness, but in fact he was a lower-middle class boy from Teddington who kept his finger on the pulse – and that can be seen in songs like London pride which he wrote in the war. He knew how people felt.”
It’s nearly finished a hugely successful tour across England, but there’s a final chance for those living in London to see it, as it’s coming to the Richmond Theatre for a very brief appearance from June 2-4. So get your cravat out of the cupboard and head down (to what is, coincidentally, one of the country’s loveliest Frank Matcham theatres) for what promises to be a splendid, and highly civilised, evening’s entertainment.
The Green, Richmond, TW9. www.ambassadortickets.com/
