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BEYOND THE STAGE

The Life & Work of Sir Noël Coward

This biography, chronology, and interactive timeline detail the long, incredible life of the iconic English playwright Sir Noël Coward, author of Blithe Spirit.

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Noël Coward at Waterloo Station, 1937. Courtesy of the Noël Coward Foundation.

Life & Timeline

Noël Peirce Coward was born in 1899 and made his professional stage debut as Prince Mussel in The Goldfish at the age of 11, leading to many child actor appearances over the next few years. His breakthrough in playwriting was the controversial The Vortex (1924) which featured themes of drugs and adultery and made his name as both actor and playwright in the West End and on Broadway. During the 1920s and 1930s, Coward wrote a string of successful plays, musicals, and intimate revues including Fallen Angels (1925), Hay Fever (1925), Easy Virtue (1926), This Year of Grace (1928), and Bitter Sweet (1929). His professional partnership with childhood friend, Gertrude Lawrence, started with the musical revue London Calling (1923) and was followed by Private Lives (1931) and Tonight at 8.30 (1936).

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Seattle Rep's 1970 production of Hay Fever. Photo by Camera Craft.

During World War II, he remained a successful playwright, screenwriter, and director, as well as entertaining the troops and even acting as a spy for the Foreign Office. His plays during these years included Blithe Spirit (1941), which ran for 1,997 performances, outlasting the War (a West End record until The Mousetrap overtook it), This Happy Breed and Present Laughter (both 1942). His two wartime screenplays, In Which We Serve, which he co-directed with the young David Lean as well as starred in, and Brief Encounter quickly became classics of British cinema. 

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Allen Fitzpatrick and Suzanne Bouchard in Seattle Rep's 2006 production of Private Lives. Photo by Chris Bennion.

However, the post-war years were more difficult. Austerity Britain—the London critics determined—was out of tune with the brittle Coward wit. In response, Coward re-invented himself as a cabaret and TV star, particularly in America, and in 1955 he played a sold-out season in Las Vegas featuring many of his most famous songs, including "Mad About the Boy," "I’ll See You Again," and "Mad Dogs and Englishmen." This was followed by three live television specials on CBS including Together with Music with Mary Martin. In the mid-1950s he settled in Jamaica and Switzerland, and enjoyed a renaissance in the early 1960s becoming the first living playwright to be performed by the National Theatre, when he directed Hay Fever there. Late in his career he was lauded for his roles in a number of films including Our Man in Havana (1959) and his role as the iconic Mr. Bridger alongside Michael Caine in The Italian Job (1968).

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Seattle Rep celebrated Noël Coward's 100th birthday with a musical revue of his songs, Oh, Coward!, in 1999, starring Patti Cohenour and David Pichette. Photo by Chris Bennion.

Writer, actor, director, film producer, painter, songwriter, and cabaret artist, as well as an author of verse, essays, autobiographies, and a novel, he was called "The Master" by close friends. His final West End appearance was Song at Twilight in 1966, which he wrote and starred in. He was knighted in 1970 and died peacefully in 1973 in his beloved Jamaica.

 

Explore Coward's life and work in even more detail with this interactive timeline.

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Further Reading

  • Theatrical Companion to Coward: A Pictorial Record of the First Performances of the Theatrical Works of Noël Coward (2012) by Raymond Mander and Joe Mitchenson, edited by Sheridan Morley and Barry Day
  • The Noël Coward Diaries (2000) edited by Graham Payn and Sheridan Morley
  • The Letters of Noël Coward (Diaries, Letters and Essays) (2008) by Noël Coward, edited by Barry Day

Further details of all Coward's published books are available on noelcoward.com

 

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#Coward125 is a two-year celebration of the enduring legacy of Sir Noël Coward (1899-1973). From humble beginnings, Coward would achieve international recognition for his work as a playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, as well as for his incomparable wit and effortless style. Coward’s work continues to enthrall and delight audiences and, 50 years after his death, his popularity endures with his work constantly staged around the world. 
   
The Noël Coward Foundation supports educational and professional development projects across the Arts and continues Coward’s own commitment to charitable work during his lifetime. The Foundation is proud to support a diverse range of outstanding organizations working in theater, music, playwriting, technical training, academic research, and many other areas.

#Coward125

 

See Coward's work on the main stage at Seattle Rep with Blithe Spirit, playing November 29–December 22, 2024.

Blithe Spirit