Mark Stobbs is director of the Bar Standards Board and unofficial culture critic of legalweek.com
The latest play at the National Theatre is Noel Coward’s Present Laughter. It’s not his greatest play and, written in 1939, is probably the last of the ones performed fairly regularly. Coward is at his strongest writing short, succinct plays for small groups of people. In his early work there is no flab; here, the performance lasts just under three hours with only one interval. He explored difficult, flamboyant theatrical people in Hay Fever and unconventional relationships and the idea, generally, of lack of commitment in both Private Lives and Blithe Spirit. All are shorter, funnier and more interesting than this. There are lots of great lines and situations here and it’s all highly enjoyable, but there are times when you feel he’s being self-indulgent and going on a bit.
