About the Play:

Hay Fever is a full-length comedy by Noel Coward. The Bohemian Bliss family is gathered for a relaxing weekend in the English countryside and unbeknownst to the others, each of them has invited a guest. What was supposed to be a weekend of leisure spirals into mayhem as the family's eccentricities prove too much for their unsuspecting visitors. A shrewd, farcical look at a dysfunctional family oblivious to their ill-mannered behaviour, Hay Fever is a top drawer, high society classic that continues to delight.

Hay Fever is a comedy of bad manners which starts with the arrival of four guests, invited independently by different members of the eccentric Bliss family for a weekend at their country house. Hoping for a quiet weekend in the country with some guests, David Bliss, a writer of trashy novels and his wife Judith, a retired actress, find that an impossible dream when their high-spirited grown-up children Simon and Sorel appear with guests of their own. A houseful of drama waits to be ignited as misunderstandings and tempers flare. With Judith's new flame and David's newest literary 'inspiration' keeping company as the children follow suit, the self-centered behaviour of the hosts finally drives their guests to flee, while the Blisses are so engaged in a family row that they do not notice their guests' departure. Set against the backdrop of the glamorous 1920s, this classic farce is Noel Coward at his finest: razor-sharp and as dry as a martini.

Hay Fever premiered in 1925 at the Ambassador Theatre in London to tremendous success, transferred to the larger Criterion Theatre, and played to packed West End audiences for a year. Noel Coward directed a revival of the work in 1933 and another at the National Theatre in 1964, the first time the theatre had revived a work by a living playwright. The show has become a popular choice for school and community theatre productions.

Cast: 5 female, 4 male

What people say:

"An evening of intoxicating escape ... a cross between high farce and a comedy of manners." — The New York Times

"Light, luminous, and charming, and hilariously funny." — New York Post

"It does not date... it is in the highest mood of fantastic comedy, it is deliciously heartless and therefore deliciously alive and fresh." — The Times (UK)

About the Playwright:

Sir Noël Coward (1899-1973) was one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th Century. Also a composer, director, actor and singer, he first made his name as a playwright with The Vortex, in which he also appeared. His numerous other successful plays included Fallen Angels, Hay Fever, Private Lives, Design for Living, and Blithe Spirit. He was knighted in 1970.