This production of Noel Coward's final play is rather wrong-headed, but not in the usual way. Director Richard Digby Day has observed that camping up Coward for all his flamboyant worth results in dulling his wit. So his actors pronounce every line with the earnestness of the grave.
Admittedly, the situation has a certain gravitas. Ailing and elderly writer Sir Hugo Latymer (Gary Raymond) agrees to meet old flame Carlotta Gray (Delena Kidd), to discover that she is not only aware of his closeted homosexuality, but also has the means to "out" him. His terror at the threat demonstrates the extent to which he has internalised the mores of a society that he believes would shun him if it learned the truth. He has become so repressed that he allows no genuine feeling to reach the surface. Had he been allowed full self-expression, he would clearly have been a happier man, if not a greater writer. This is a cri de coeur from Coward: the character might be autobiographical; the social predicament undoubtedly is. Raymond gives a solid portrait of the artistic mind in turmoil, but owes more to Christopher Lee than to Coward.
The staging adds extra awkwardness: a sofa in the middle of the stage limits the space and gives the actors something to hide behind. It is one concealment too many, and reveals the discomfort at the heart of this production.
· Until February 8. Box office: 01738 621031.
