Stars: Margaret Leighton, Richard Warwick, Patrick Barr, Alec McCowen, Penelope Keith, Polly Adams, Rula Lenska, John Steiner, John Bluthal, Paul Eddington, Patricia Hodge, Phoebe Nicholls, Joan Collins, Diane Langton, John Standing, Sian Phillips, Donald Sinden, Gwen Watford

Director: John Glenister

Summary: Collection of classic Noel Coward plays. Includes THE VORTEX, HAYFEVER, PRIVATE LIVES, DESIGN FOR LIVING, PRESENT LAUGHTER, SUITE IN TWO KEYS and TONIGHT AT 8:30.

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This gala - more than 19-hours - seven-disc box set (plus more than 12 hours of bonus audio interviews, musical performances, speeches, and radio plays) immerses viewers in Coward's vanished urbane world, where formidable and fascinating characters are often caught between their natural instincts and the laws of society.

Take Gilda, Otto, and Leo, who, flout convention by living as three in the quintessential Coward play, "Design for Living" (1979). Or the bohemian Bliss family, whose members each, independently, invite a guest up for a very chaotic weekend in "Hay Fever" (1984). Or monstrously self-absorbed actor Garry Essendine, who frantically keeps dewy-eyed admirers, an ex-wife, and a persistent playwright at bay in "Present Laughter" (1981). Or Amanda and Elyot, a divorced couple reunited on their respective honeymoons in "Private Lives" (1976). These farcical comedies of bad manners, all among Coward's most popular, are "jagged with sophistication" and effervescent with "easy, swift dialogue." But it's not all gay banter and cocktails. "The Vortex" (1969), the once-controversial play that put Coward on the map, is anything but a laughing matter.

This Noel Coward Collection is rich with 'small and large enchantments.' The productions, originally broadcast on the BBC, cannot be said to be definitive, but they are each tastefully mounted (only "Present Laughter" is marred by intrusive shots of a live theatre audience), and for the most part, superbly acted. Penelope Keith (To the Manor Born) is splendid as the tempestuous Amanda in "Private Lives" and the theatrical Judith Bliss in "Hay Fever". Joan Collins acquits herself admirably in "Tonight at 8:30" (1991), a series of eight one-act plays that range from light comedy to tragedy. Other casting coups include Paul Scofield and Deborah Kerr in "A Song at Twilight" (1982) about a successful writer, his former lover, and a secret she threatens to reveal, and Judi Dench and Ian Holm as "Mr. and Mrs. Edgehill" (1985), a wartime drama.

This marvelously entertaining anthology is an embarrassment of riches and essential for theatre buffs or anyone looking for an oasis of smart and cultured entertainment in a Superbad world. --Donald Liebenson

Aspect Ratio:	4:3 Full Frame
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Release Date:	January 28, 2008
Runtime:	733 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	B B C D V D 2566
Keywords:	Collection, English, General, Drama, Noel, Cowerd
Genre:	Drama