by Noel Coward | directed by Clare Howard
10-12 and 16-19 April at 7.30pm | 2.30pm matinee on Saturday 19 April
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| Photography: Sean Owen of Reflective Arts Photography |
"Noel Coward’s “three sided erotic hotch potch” sparkles from start to finish in this gloriously funny production... The interactions between Gilda, Otto, Leo, and Ernest, are a network of creative inspirations and frictions that spur them all on in different ways, a recognition that connections between people can take many different forms. This Sewell Barn production brings them swirling and somersaulting on to the stage with panache." James Goffin, Cultivated [click here for full review]
"Design For Living - a glittering diamond of a play! Feel proud Clare Howard and cast - feel very proud! Like a diamond this glittering production had many facets - the sets, the costumes, the acting - all honed and perfect! I hated the people - hated the way they treated Ernest - hated the sharp self destructive nature of the trio! And what a trio! Superb sharp playing chaps! The acerbic Mrs Hodges - just wonderful Zanna Foley - Davis! But at the centre of it all - Gilda! - Hollie Harrington-Ball this was your play!" Robin S
"Congratulations, Clare, Hollie and the full company of Design for Living. Coward is notoriously difficult to do well, however, you pulled it off brilliantly! Hollie - Your performance was a triumph, a real tour de force!" Robin W
"Just back from yet another wonderful evening at @sewellbarn theatre. Noel Coward’s Design For Living is one of his deeper and more difficult plays and it is brought to life brilliantly in this production. Sparkling, fast paced dialogue, obviously witty and acerbic, but also sometimes touching and intimate is handled effortlessly by a hugely talented cast. The timing is perfect and the whole thing looks utterly beautiful and stylish! It’s on a short break now but resumes again next week. Get yourselves tickets while you can!!" Alison
"Do see it. Sharp, challenging, witty and poignant; Noël Coward's bohemian ménage à trois are rooted in a 1930s world of privilege but their ideas sound very modern. Congratulations to all!" David
"Loved this performance from start to finish, witty, pacy, and entertaining. Congratulations to all." Jamie
"Saw the play last night, absolutely brilliant!" Sue
"Sewell Barn have given us a stimulating, even sexy, production of what must be considered one of Coward’s more difficult plays. The interactions between the three in the triangle of passion are very convincing and beautifully played and they are well supported by the other members of the ten strong cast. I am sure this will be a popular drama so I recommend that you get your tickets now – take your lover, or if you are lucky, both of them!" Julian Swainson, Norwich Eye [click here for full review]
"Absolutely superb opening night! Loved it." Jane
"These three difficult roles [Gilda, Otto and Leo] are played with aplomb by Hollie Harrington, Alex Tiller and Lewis Garvey. Garvey's Leo and Tiller's Otto are alternatingly hilarious as they quaff brandy, and heart-breaking as they lose the affections of Gilda. The excellent physicality and comic timing of these two actors brilliantly hints at the homoeroticism heavily implicit in the text... Harrington's Gilda meanwhile grapples with the challenges of being a 'modern girl', both expected to marry and have babies, while desperate to live out a passionate life to the full. It is a testament to Harrington that she manages to explore this fully without allowing the evening to tip into tragedy... The supporting cast also add greatly to the comedy, whether that is displaying the bickering of the young married Carvers or the fastidiousness of the bachelor art dealer Ernest. Particular credit must be given to Zanna Foley-Davies for her performance as Miss Hodge, Leo's cleaner. Her incredible comic timing greatly added to the central act of the play." Niamh Duncan, UK Theatre Network [click here for full review]
"Excellent performances, well done the whole team." Jonathan
"Again, as with the recent production of The Clearing, some absolutely outstanding performances here. A great night in the theatre." Matthew
***
Tickets www.ticketsource.co.uk/sewellbarn / phone 0333 6663366
Contains adult themes
