If you’ve ever thought your family was crazy (which let’s face it, we’ve all been prone to do), you’ll take great comfort in watching Hay Fever. No matter how zany you think your family is, they’re not a patch on the Blisses, who are a delightfully nutty bunch.
The Bliss family are the central characters in this play by Noel Coward. In the 1920s, he used to spend weekends at the home of silent movie star, Laurette Taylor and her rather eccentric family. That clearly gave him plenty of inspiration and ammunition with which to write this piece.
After what is a bit of a slow start to the first scene with an exchange between brother and sister, Simon and Sorel (played by Micheal Benz and Alice Haig), Judith Bliss (played to utter perfection by Maggie Steed) strolls in and dials up the crazy infinitely. We see early on that these three have a wonderfully bizarre dynamic and a clear penchant for being delightfully overdramatic – of course, who would expect anything less from Judith Bliss, a former darling of the stage?
It soon becomes clear that mother, father and both children have invited people to the house for the weekend, seemingly without informing anyone until just before these people show up. When the guests arrive, hilarity ensues. Be it completely ignoring their guests altogether, playing games which either make people uncomfortable or completely baffle them, putting on unrivalled dramatic displays or throwing tantrums that will surely go down in history as some of the best that have ever been thrown – this family does nothing to make their guests feel particularly comfortable or at ease. And yet, they charmed the pants off me (not literally of course. I was at the theatre, that would’ve been completely inappropriate).
I could try and describe how funny this play is, but quite frankly, there simply aren’t enough adjectives. The audience regularly burst out in raucous laughter. My sides hurt, my face ached. I laughed so much it was like a workout. Maggie Steed as Judith Bliss is nothing short of brilliant. It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing that role. It’s as though it was made for her. Alice Haig as Sorel should give masterclasses in how to throw a good tantrum. Richard Greatham, one of the guests, played by Philip Bretherton, has impeccable comic timing. Jackie Coryton, another guest, played by Emily Bowker, was an absolute joy to watch – being equally funny when she wasn’t saying anything at all.
As a lover of all things 1920s, it may be true that I was predisposed to love this play. The set, which I would like to move in to if at all possible, was fabulous. Whoever was responsible for wardrobe should win some kind of award. The costumes were superb, particularly that of Myra Arundel, played by Emma Amos. A special mention also goes to hair and makeup. There was not one detail of this period they missed.
Overall, this play made me feel like hanging out with the Blisses might be quite a riot. I want to transport myself back to the 20s, be really posh, wear nice frocks and say words like ‘beastly’ and ‘ghastly’ (but in a really drawn out way that takes at least three seconds). They’re absolute nutters, but a night at their house looks like one hell of a party.
At the Playhouse until 10th July, this is one not to be missed.
[Now go back and read that whole thing again in a really posh voice while smoking a cigar and drinking scotch, just to get you in the mood.]