Grayshott Stagers gave Noel Coward aficionados a real treat with their production of Cowardy Custard at the village hall over four nights from 23rd to 26th April.
Telling the story of Coward's life through song and biographical snippets, the revue features songs and scenes from the 1920s to the 1960s, including I'll See, You Again, London Pride, Mad Dogs and Englishmen and A Room with a View.
For those young enough to have missed Coward the first time around, the show comes as a revelation in 'the freshness of the famous pieces, the delight of the less familiar material, and the continued relevance of Coward's powerful satire.
Director Heather Legat assembled a small but talented company, in what was very much an ensemble piece, with each individual having a solo spot and an opportunity to shine.
The result was a slick and stylised production with a rapid succession of musical medleys interspersed with extracts from Coward's plays and comments from his memoirs.
The first act took us through the 20s and 30s. Angie Hilder and Richard White brought poignancy to the love song You Were I There and Elizabeth Chester was very amusing as the bored seamstress in the Spinning Song.
Coward wrote Mrs. Worthington as a genuine cri de coeur to deter those dreadful eager mothers from pushing their untalented offspring onto the stage. As such, it was a total failure, but audiences loved it and Peter Gardner carried it off with style.
Beatnik Love Affair gave an anachronistic leap into the future and was performed with zest by Jane Clayton and Richard Tytler, unrecognisable as longhaired hippies.
Graeme Somerville's vocals improve with each show, and he was in good voice in Poor Little, Rich Girl, bringing out the pathos of the superficiality of life in the fast lane.
One of the undoubted highlights of the evening was Teresa Marsh as a vulgar, paralytic socialite (played by Patricia Routledge in the original production) with a hilariously bibulous rendering of I've Been to a Marvelous Party.
The decision to cast different actors in the recurring role of Noel Coward successfully conveyed the various facets of his personality and gave several of the men the opportunity to imitate his famously over-clipped enunciation. Particularly enjoyable was the sequence with John Hilder as the Master and Laura Musco as the upstart from Uckfield.
After the interval we moved forward to the war years, starting with a medley of songs about London. High points in this act were Alice Is At It Again with a provocative Brizetta Thonger making a memorable musical debut, and Bronxville Darby and Joan with Bob Fells and Mary Coyte as the loathing cantankerous old married couple.
Alex Yates was in excellent voice in Twentieth Century Blues; Jane Sargeant was delightful in Would You Like to Stick a Pin in my Balloon? and the I whole company gave a rousing rendition of Let's Do It with topically updated lyrics.
Musical director Angela Jones had the daunting task of teaching, polishing and conducting each of the show's 72 songs. She carried this off with confidence and panache. Under her baton, the four-piece orchestra was excellent and vividly conveyed the moods of the passing decades.
The scenery was simple but effective, and the costumes and wigs - under the supervision of Sylvia Boddington, Jan Ashwell and Pauleen Dowsett - were period perfect.
Altogether this was a delightful evening's entertainment and a pleasing reminder of the golden age of British Theatre.
