Richard E. Grant makes his debut in a Noel Coward play as David Bliss in Emily Burns’ production of Hay Fever at Wyndham’s Theatre. The staging runs until 12 December, pairing Grant with Christine Baranski as the delusional matriarch Judith Bliss in a classic drawing-room comedy about an eccentric family hosting unsuspecting weekend guests.
The Bottom Line
- Production Run: Emily Burns’ direction of Noel Coward’s Hay Fever is booking at Wyndham’s Theatre through 12 December.
- Star Cast: The revival features Richard E. Grant as David Bliss alongside Christine Baranski as Judith Bliss.
- Theatrical Context: The play marks Grant’s first starring role in a Coward work, following Maggie Smith’s 1964 Old Vic premiere.
Wyndham’s Theatre Stages the Coward Revival
The production unfolds in the Berkshire village of Cookham, where retired actress Judith Bliss and her novelist husband David entertain a troupe of weekend visitors. Alongside Grant and Baranski, the cast features Nancy Carroll as society type Myra and Ash Hunter as amateur boxer Sandy Tyrell. The incoming guests quickly encounter the volatile household dynamics of the Bliss family, including children Simon and Sorel, culminating in an escape plan hatched by the exasperated visitors.
Christine Baranski brings both heft and hilarity to Judith Bliss, a character Coward fused from two real-life acquaintances. Meanwhile, Richard E. Grant steps into the role of the short-tempered patriarch. As Myra observes of the warring couple in the text, “you’re artificial to the point of lunacy.”
A Long-Awaited Collaboration With Coward
Despite a career defined by quintessential aristocratic portrayals in cinema and television, Richard E. Grant has never previously starred in a Noel Coward play. His casting as the delusional novelist places him firmly in familiar territory as an actor magnetic to watch self-destruct, echoing screen personas from Withnail & I to Saltburn.
The play holds a distinguished theatrical lineage. Maggie Smith originally premiered the part at the Old Vic in 1964, a production that marked the National Theatre’s first presentation of a work by a living author. Burns’ current staging preserves the sparkling farce of the original text while bringing out the contemporary sting of Coward’s dialogue.
Theatrical Schedule and Final Curtain
Performances of Hay Fever continue at Wyndham’s Theatre ahead of the scheduled closing date on 12 December. The production highlights the enduring relevance of Coward’s drawing-room comedy more than fifty years after the playwright’s death.
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