Premiered at Theatre Royal Bath; now touring the UK | Words by Melissa Blease
In 2023, British actor, writer and producer Tracy-Ann Oberman reclaimed Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice with a ground-breaking adaptive interpretation that swapped 16th century Italy for 1930s Britain… and put the first ever female Shylock in the spotlight.
In another theatrical first, Oberman has moved on to reframe Noël Coward’s perennially popular 1939 comedy Present Laughter (a Theatre Royal Bath/Augusta Productions collaboration directed by Lindsay Posner.)
Coward openly admitted that he wrote the drama’s key character – the egotistical, senescent celebrity Garry Essendine – with “the sensible object of providing me with a bravura part.” Almost 90 years on, Oberman has taken that bravura part and really, really ran with it.
Oberman has reimagined Garry as middle-aged actress Geri (think, a morsel of Ab Fab’s Edina Monsoon mixed with a soupçon of Sunset Boulevard’s Gloria Swanson with a hint of Mariah Carey thrown into the mix for good measure). Garry’s long-suffering secretary/PA Monica, meanwhile, has morphed into arch wit-maestro Monty, and Garry’s long-suffering ex-wife Liz has segued into empathetic ex-husband Len. Meanwhile, all of them (along with three other gender-flipped characters too) have been transported via the magic of theatre from interwar London in the late 1930s to 1970s midtown Manhattan. And yet…
There’s not a hint of either gimmick nor incongruity to be found anywhere in this bold new format, and neither has Coward’s original brilliant script been written out of the spotlight (it remains, in fact, almost 100% intact.) Period updates including Geri’s fabulous 1970s glamourpuss garb, her glitzy apartment and the disco-era soundscape add to rather than detract from the fast-moving thrust of a drama that brings more present sense to Present Laughter than a traditional revival could ever do, while the ‘warts’n’all’ insight behind the scenes of the celebrity treadmill façade could be viewed by millennial audiences as a forerunner to multiple reality TV shows of today.
As Geri, Oberman gives delicious diva and dark despondency in equal, complex measure: she fights for her right to autonomy while relying heavily on those around her for validation and reassurance; she trusts her own judgment but finds being alone unbearable… and she brings subtle sensitivity to a charismatic character that’s previously been hidden under too many layers of laughs.
James Dreyfus’ Monty is delightfully droll and artfully acerbic, saying more with one perfectly-timed, arched eyebrow than Graham Norton can manage in a 20-minute scripted monologue. Elsewhere, Perry Williams puts the funk into the role of Geri’s loyal valet Fred, while Gabriella Foley as eccentric housekeeper Miss Erikson offers an exquisitely-crafted, hilarious backbone to many scenes.
Flipping the gender roles for a contemporary audience highlights deeper, relevant themes to a play ostensibly written as a shrewd comedy too. Geri’s lovers (pretty fan-boy David/Seb Carrington; the manipulative Johannes/Kit Young) feel more sinister and controlling than their originally female counterparts might have been intended to be, while avant garde playwright Roland Maule’stransformation into intense, obsessive dramaturg practitioner Rosina (Eva Feiler) represents an unnerving portrayal of a character dogged by a serious mental health crisis.
Gosh, there’s a lot to take in here! Fame, sycophancy, identity; morals, image, aging, loyalty and What It Is To Be A Woman, either back then, right now or tomorrow – it’s all up for fresh consideration in this beautifully-wrought, immaculately-paced production.
After co-starring with Coward in the classic 1969 British heist film The Italian Job, actor Michael Caine told the Times newspaper that “playing with Noël is like playing with God.” Today, Tracy-Ann Oberman has been there, done that… and aced it.