Hay Fever: A Play in Three Acts
by Noël Coward
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Description
A country house weekend goes haywire when the guests and their hosts play a game of romantic musical chairs. This 1920's masterpiece is filled with wit, sexual sophistication and Coward's biting commentary on his own profession. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Tate Donovan, Arabella Field, Joy Gregory, Jeffrey Jones, Lynne Marta, Serena Scott Thomas, Carolyn Seymour, Eric Stoltz and Simon Templeman.Tags
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Member Reviews
Well, I think this may have been the weakest of the three plays in the collection, perhaps because it follows a typical comedy of errors with a family each having a lover and all of the lovers switching and also getting a bit fed up with the self absorbed aristocratic family. This would probably make for a hysterical play when performed but it's easy to get annoyed with its predictability while reading it.
While I enjoyed this full cast audiobook of the play, I didn't find it as funny as I expected. Perhaps it needed the visual aspect - I will have to see if I can find a video or film of this online somewhere.
3.5*
While I enjoyed this full cast audiobook of the play, I didn't find it as funny as I expected. Perhaps it needed the visual aspect - I will have to see if I can find a video or film of this online somewhere.
While I enjoyed this full cast audiobook of the play, I didn't find it as funny as I expected. Perhaps it needed the visual aspect - I will have to see if I can find a video or film of this online somewhere.
English literature, theatre,
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Author Information
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In 1964, when Hay Fever (1925) was placed in the repertory of the newly organized National Theatre, Noel Coward professed to be grateful: "Bless you for admitting that I'm a classic." A week-long series of Coward played on BBC television in 1969; there have been major revivals in London and New York; plays long out of print have been republished show more in popular collections. At the start of the 1960s, though, Coward's reputation had been at an ebb, as he skirmished with the angry new drama. Coward had enjoyed no big success since Blithe Spirit of 1941. There have been attempts to assimilate the rehabilitated Coward to contemporary drama. Coward himself profited from the new freedom when, in 1965, his Song at Twilight discussed homosexuality, a subject that he had evaded throughout his career. A juvenile prodigy, Coward was by turns actor, director, composer, lyricist, autobiographer, and author of nearly 60 theater pieces. He even wrote screenplays, notably for In Which We Serve (1942) and Brief Encounter (1946). Although he specialized in light comedy, the so-called comedy of manners, he worked in many forms including patriotic spectacle, revue, musical, farce, even the problem play. Hay Fever, Blithe Spirit, and Private Lives (1930) have proved to be the most durable of his comedies, along with nine short plays presented as Tonight at 8:30. In each, characters demonstrate the combination of perpetual role playing, cool hedonism, and energizing self-absorption. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Has as a student's study guide
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- La fiebre del heno
- Original title
- Hay fever
- Original publication date
- 1925
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 180
- Popularity
- 181,047
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (3.49)
- Languages
- English, Italian, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 12
- ASINs
- 9
