“We’re putting on a play, not fighting a bloody war. Why can’t people in the theatre behave like normal human beings?” Read more …
Golden Globe winner Amanda Donohoe stars as theatrical grand dame Lorraine Barrie in Noel Coward’s deliciously funny final play, Star Quality.
Taking us behind the scenes of a new West End production, Coward conjures up a wickedly observant satire of the backstage world of talent and treachery and a gallery of unforgettable characters: a temperamental leading lady, a ruthless director, jaded old troupers and, caught somewhere between them all, an innocent young playwright.
From tentative first rehearsal to triumphant opening night, both leading lady and director are determined to get their own way and the resulting clash of egos becomes increasingly and hilariously bloody.
What emerges from the mayhem of biting wit, hissy fits and fisticuffs is a startling evocation of that most elusive gift of all – star quality.
Amanda Donohoe is an internationally acclaimed star of stage and screen. Winner of a Golden Globe for her role in the tv series LA Law, Amanda has most recently been seen as feisty femme fatale Natasha Wylde in Emmerdale.
There is lots of quality but not enough stars to the rather quaint little comedy.
Life imitating art imitating life has rarely looked duller.
Coward’s point seems to be that thespians are all vain, silly, shallow, self-obsessed people, who still somehow – on occasions – manage to do great work together. Not all Coward’s wit – hardly at its best here in any case – can disguise the truth that this is a deeply sentimental thought, as dull as it is old-fashioned.
King's Theatre, Edinburgh from Tuesday November 15, 2011, until Saturday November 19, 2011. More info: http://www.edtheatres.com/kings
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