num_pages: 254
description: Noel Coward's reputation as a brilliant playwright and man of the theater has stood firm since 1925, when his earliest plays became hits in London. His name has, over the years, become synonymous with urbanity, sophistication, and incomparable wit. This new edition includes three of his best plays, about which Edward Albee has said in his introduction, "Read these plays. You are in for quite a treat and quite an experience."Blithe Spirit, written in 1941, concerns the predicament of a man who must face his imperious and jealous wives when they return from the after-life to haunt him. Hay Fever, a hit in London in 1925, is a comic portrait of the smug, theatrical Bliss family, who have invited four unwelcome house guests for the weekend, only to bewilder them with their bizarre antics and gross indifference. Private Lives, which Clive Barnes called in a New York Times review "the only classic English comedy of manners since Oscar Wilde," was first prdouced in 1930. It is a humorous glimpse into the lives of a twice-married couple, who, having checked into a posh hotel, have nothing to do but eat, drink, bicker, make love, and congratulate themselves on their isolation from a world unworthy of them.A prolific writer, lyricist, actor, director, and cabaret performer, Noel Coward was one of the most vibrant figures in the theater. He ranks among Britain's finest playwrights.
language: English
title: Three Plays: Blithe Spirit, Hay Fever, Private Lives
titlecomplete: Three Plays: Blithe Spirit, Hay Fever, Private Lives
genres: 20th Century, Literature, British Literature, Classics, Drama, Plays, Comedy, Adult Fiction, Humor, Theatre
ratings_count: 2723
publisher: Grove Press