Waiting In The Wings
by Noel Coward
The Wings, a retirement community for former leading actresses, is comfortable without being luxurious. Plans are afoot for a charity evening; a group of younger women are to give a fundraising performance for the ladies of the home. This event, and the arrival of a new resident, piques rivalries among the former greats as they rekindle memories from the past.
Sheridan Morley wrote – ‘the play has moments of near-Chekhovian dignity and melancholy [as well as] insights into the processes of ageing for people who have made their careers out of youth.’
Noël Coward was not only gifted but generous. He wrote Waiting in The Wings, his fiftieth play, with loving care and absolute belief in its characters. He said ‘I consider that the play as a whole contains, beneath the froth of some of its lighter moments, the basic truth that old age needn’t be nearly so dreary and sad as it is supposed to be, provided you greet it with humour and live it with courage.’
Being a home full of former stars jealousies abound, especially between Lotta and May. A tragedy brings them to their senses and a new solarium brings out everyone’s good nature. This play is a gentle, humorous, moving exploration of the relationships between the women, the staff and others, and of the inevitable friendships, feuds, affection and bickering that arises when characters accustomed to centre stage are compelled to live as a community. What is not to like about this quirky Coward play, and so close to Christmas!
Directed by Stephen Pike
Additional shows of Waiting in The Wings will also be performed at Theatre 3 from 27 November – 7 December as part of Canberra Repertory’s 2019 season
RUNNING TIME: 2 hr and 20 mins inclusive of a 20 min Interval
EARLY BIRD available until 20 October 2019
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