I first saw Noel Coward's Hay Fever at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester a couple of years ago, and Belinda Lang (from 2.4 Children) was heading the cast. I wasn't that into the play, and the characters left me a little cold, so it was with some doubt that I agreed to see the play again, at Andrew's request, at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, of which I'm now a member.This time around I found Hay Fever to be an utter delight from start to finish. The cast was scattered with familiar faces: Maggie Steed (Jam & Jerusalem), Philip Bretherton (As Time Goes By), Emma Amos (Goodnight Sweetheart), and, best of all, Michael Benz from CITV classic Mike & Angelo! The 9-strong cast was fantastic, and Benz and Alice Haig made the roles of Simon and Sorel Bliss likeable, or at least not unlikeable.
The play centres around a weekend at the Bliss family home, and the guests each of them invites to stay. There's really not much more plot than that, the joy revolves around the interactions between these off-the-wall characters and the wonderful words Coward gives them to utter. Maggie Steed was a superb Judith Bliss, an aging, retired actress with a penchant for moments of melodramatic over-the-top emotional outbursts.
At the Royal Exchange, a strange circular theatre, we were sat at the top looking down onto the performance, and I think this affected my enjoyment previously too - this time we were right at the front, practically on the well-decorated and detailed living room set that sat slightly elevated. There was plenty of chance for eye-contact with the cast and being so close really drew me in to the drama. Yet again only a handful of the audience were under 50... and when the theatre is this good, I feel priviledged to be among the few young people who bother to go to the theatre.
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