Suite in Three Keys - Orange Tree

[bgarde]

Orange Tree are running Suite In Three Keys by Noel Coward. There are paper signs stuck to the wall around the theatre to give the feeling of a Swiss hotel...

I saw the double bill last night of Shadows of the Evening and Come Into the Garden, Maud. It was a long evening. Almost three hours in total and you feel it. The first play was a good, solid Coward that was well-acted and had moments of pathos. Very enjoyable and the parts suited the cast.

The second play was excruciating and for me without any redeeming feature except possibly Stefan Rizzi as the singing waiter (less awful than it sounds - you'regrateful for him). Tom Littler was there scribbling away - not sure what notes can save it. Tara Fitzgerald and Emma Fielding have the talent and charisma to try to keep you going but Stephen Boxer lacks the charm that you have to have in order to make something as bad as 'Garden, Maud' entertaining. So, a bit of a mixed bag. I'd recommend the first but would have probably enjoyed it more had I left at the interval.

[frankubelik]

I rather foolishly booked thinking I was seeing A SONG AT TWILIGHT together with one other from the triple bill (an uncharacteristic error on my part) and actually found the reverse from "bgarde". I thought Shadows lacked pace and whilst slight, thought Maud was more entertaining and I smiled a good deal. Aside from Mr Boxer's call for prompts, I thought the cast were fine if unexceptional. I agree about Stefan Rizzi but not sure what the point of the interval concert was! Still I would rather have a minor Coward than most anything of today's writers.

[prefab]

Thanks for the review! I'm doing the marathon today, but at least the double bill comes in the afternoon, followed by the play I'm most curious about, A Song at Twilight.

[lt]

May 30, 2024 8:25:24 GMT bgarde said:

Orange Tree are running Suite In Three Keys by Noel Coward. There are paper signs stuck to the wall around the theatre to give the feeling of a Swiss hotel...

I saw the double bill last night of Shadows of the Evening and Come Into the Garden, Maud. It was a long evening. Almost three hours in total and you feel it. The first play was a good, solid Coward that was well-acted and had moments of pathos. Very enjoyable and the parts suited the cast.

The second play was excruciating and for me without any redeeming feature except possibly Stefan Rizzi as the singing waiter (less awful than it sounds - you'regrateful for him). Tom Littler was there scribbling away - not sure what notes can save it. Tara Fitzgerald and Emma Fielding have the talent and charisma to try to keep you going but Stephen Boxer lacks the charm that you have to have in order to make something as bad as 'Garden, Maud' entertaining. So, a bit of a mixed bag. I'd recommend the first but would have probably enjoyed it more had I left at the interval.

Slightly depressing to read. Booked to see in a few weeks, after a strong season last year, so far in 2024 been rather disappointed by the OT productions this year.

[aspieandy]

That's a shame. It's been a sparkling season for me.

[lt]

May 30, 2024 9:22:39 GMT aspieandy said:

That's a shame. It's been a sparkling season for me.

That's interesting. Did you like Northanger Abbey and Test Match?

[aspieandy]

Ah! Did not see. But then neither were 'my thing'.

[lt]

May 30, 2024 10:34:40 GMT aspieandy said:

Ah! Did not see. But then neither were 'my thing'.

Turned out not to be mine either!

[Dave B]

May 30, 2024 8:49:22 GMT frankubelik said:

I thought Shadows lacked pace and whilst slight, thought Maud was more entertaining and I smiled a good deal

I was the same. Shadows really lacked pace, my partner was bored out of her mind. I enjoyed it for the performances. Maud was a bit more entertaining and while I did smile, it was a bit slight, not too heacvy on actual laughs.

Due back again for the longer piece in a couple of weeks. We'll certainly go but not looking forward to it as much as I would have hoped to have been.

[jr]

I booked for this on separate days. I must say I found the booking process excruciating. With the different combinations of plays, the not very friendly website and my own calendar I thought I would never be able to get the right dates.

[rob]

OK so it was a preview night (the double bill), but the best thing about it by far, was Felix, the waiter. Both as the most interesting character and best performance of the night. Tara F & Helen F do give good performances, but both plays sagged quickly once paired with Stephen Boxer I'm afraid. A charismatic rich American? No way hozay!
There was little fizz or spark. Both plays felt long drawn out and Stephen Boxer under played both his characters almost identicall - including how he held a whisky glass. I certainly longed for a wee dram or 2 by the end. I hope I'm being overly harsh and it comes to life by press night and beyond. But I'm not sure these plays are all worthy of a revival...Unless there's more, much more Felix!

[bee]

May 30, 2024 8:25:24 GMT bgarde said:

Orange Tree are running Suite In Three Keys by Noel Coward. There are paper signs stuck to the wall around the theatre to give the feeling of a Swiss hotel...

I saw the double bill last night of Shadows of the Evening and Come Into the Garden, Maud. It was a long evening. Almost three hours in total and you feel it. The first play was a good, solid Coward that was well-acted and had moments of pathos. Very enjoyable and the parts suited the cast.

The second play was excruciating and for me without any redeeming feature except possibly Stefan Rizzi as the singing waiter (less awful than it sounds - you'regrateful for him). Tom Littler was there scribbling away - not sure what notes can save it. Tara Fitzgerald and Emma Fielding have the talent and charisma to try to keep you going but Stephen Boxer lacks the charm that you have to have in order to make something as bad as 'Garden, Maud' entertaining. So, a bit of a mixed bag. I'd recommend the first but would have probably enjoyed it more had I left at the interval.

I'm really grateful you started this thread. I didn't read the small print so had only bought a ticket for one of the shows (the double bill). Been trying to get a ticket for the other one all day but it seems their booking system is down today.

[showgirl]

I think I've booked to see the 2 different portions of this but found the brochure & website really unclear & unhelpful on this point as all the performances are labelled only "Suite In 3 Keys", so you can't be sure. Why on earth not call them "Programmes 1 & 2" or "A & B" or something similar?

[lt]

May 30, 2024 17:08:05 GMT showgirl said:

I think I've booked to see the 2 different portions of this but found the brochure & website really unclear & unhelpful on this point as all the performances are labelled only "Suite In 3 Keys", so you can't be sure. Why on earth not call them "Programmes 1 & 2" or "A & B" or something similar?

Agree or call them by the names of the actual plays!

[mkb]

May 30, 2024 17:08:05 GMT showgirl said:

I think I've booked to see the 2 different portions of this but found the brochure & website really unclear & unhelpful on this point as all the performances are labelled only "Suite In 3 Keys", so you can't be sure. Why on earth not call them "Programmes 1 & 2" or "A & B" or something similar?

Agree, it's been handled badly. There's a pdf next to "Show Info" that tells you which show is on which date here: orangetreetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/suite-in-three-keys/

I booked last November and was under the impression I was seeing three short plays in one evening. My booking confirmation says only "Suite in Three Keys"; no mention of "A Song at Twilight" which apparently is what I'm getting.

I've now booked for the other two, which proved time-consuming, as the Orange Tree's payment system has been down for much of the day and you can't get through by phone. You have to leave a message and wait for a call-back. On that call, they gave me a confirmed but unpaid reservation.

[prefab]

I did a marathon viewing of all three plays yesterday, and I was surprised by how much I liked them. For me, the most purely comic play, Come to the Garden Maud, was also the most successful. The American accents were a bit dodgy--Emma Fielding seemed to be going for New Jersey while Stephen Boxer sounded a bit Texan, so I was surprised to learn midway through that they were both supposed to be born and raised in Minnesota. But this did feel like a Coward twist on the kind of story the great Minnesotan writer Sinclair Lewis told in novels like Dodsworth.

Shadows in the Evening starts very strong when it's a two-hander with Emma Fielding and Tara Fitzgerald as a wife and mistress exchanging bitchy repartee. But when Stephen Boxer enters the room, a lot of the energy starts to deflate. Some of that is down to Boxer's performance; it's hard to believe that these two women were ever competing for this boring old fart. But some of it is a problem with Coward's writing; once we learn that Boxer's character already knows he has terminal cancer, the play's primary dramatic tension disippates, and it's left spinning its wheels for 30 minutes with pseudo-profound speeches about fearing death and cherishing life.

A Song at Twilight could also use a bit of editing, but it's ultimately a very interesting period piece about a bitter closeted writer and the ways his extreme secrecy affects the various women in his life. The first act is a bit slow, as it builds to the big reveal of the letters the writer wrote to a male lover, but once all the cards are on the table, Act 2 is more exciting.

And I agree with rob that Felix the waiter was a highlight of all three plays (and of the interval for the double act, when he sang Italian versions of the Beatles' "Michelle" and Dusty Springfield's "Wishin and Hopin"). I loved how we got little glimpses of Felix's own backstory across all three plays.

[adamkinsey]

Song at Twilight is by far the best play of Coward's late period but (as with so many plays written pre-1970) a bit of judicious pruning here and there wouldn't go amiss.

The main problem in Suite In Three Keys is, for me, Stephen Boxer, an actor I generally enjoy, but I think he's miscast in these pieces.

[mkb]

A train driver taking ill and causing all rail services to Richmond to be suspended was not the drama I was looking for last Friday evening. Evicted at Barnes and scrambling for an Uber, we made "curtain up" with seconds to spare.

I'm so glad we did, as A Song at Twilight really hit home. Some say Coward based this on Somerset Maugham, but it felt to me very much like a self-reckoning by the author. We are presented with accusations of deception and a defence of a lifetime of not being open about one's true self. Coward does not hold back in making the case against the ageing Hugo.

I found the second act to be particularly moving. This was in no small measure due to the deeply affecting, pitch-perfect performances of the three principals and exquisitely-judged direction.

I was happy with the running time and didn't feel there was anything meriting pruning.

I can't wait to see the other two "keys" next week.

Five stars.

Act 1: 19:35-20:40
Act 2: 21:01-21:59

[Jan]

Press night for this was last Wednesday wasn’t it ? But I can’t find a single review of any kind.

[Dave B]

Jun 3, 2024 10:38:18 GMT Jan said:

Press night for this was last Wednesday wasn’t it ? But I can’t find a single review of any kind.

Wednesday this week for all three of the plays.

[jr]

I bought tickets for the whole lot but tempted to return my ticket for the double bill if reviews go along comments here.

I'm not that interested in Coward but I enjoyed Private lives and Albee (my favourite playwright) always mentioned Coward as a very good writer, so curious about seeing more of his work.

[mkb]

Professional reviews long since ceased to be the yardstick by which I would measure my likelihood of appreciating a production. Actually, that not quite true; I have an inverse correlation with some, so that can be useful to know.

[Jan]

Jun 3, 2024 10:50:35 GMT Dave B said:

Jun 3, 2024 10:38:18 GMT Jan said:

Press night for this was last Wednesday wasn’t it ? But I can’t find a single review of any kind.

Wednesday this week for all three of the plays.

Ah I see. Thanks. It seems to have been in previews for ages. Always risky seeing previews at this venue, I booked well into the run - as a minimum that normally means the run time is less.

[Jan]

Jun 3, 2024 10:50:35 GMT Dave B said:

Jun 3, 2024 10:38:18 GMT Jan said:

Press night for this was last Wednesday wasn’t it ? But I can’t find a single review of any kind.

Wednesday this week for all three of the plays.

Guardian 4*. Telegraph 4* too but that doesn’t mean much.

[Jan]

May 30, 2024 15:32:43 GMT rob said:

But I'm not sure these plays are all worthy of a revival...

Noel Coward is a major British playwright and so his lesser works should always occasionally be produced - they throw interesting light on his major plays for example. It should be the job of the NT to do this using the best actors and directors to elevate the material but they have completely given up on this part of their remit and would rather put on a new American play in the Dorfman rather than a revival by a British playwright. If they ever decide to do a Coward play (and when was the last one ?) it would have to be one of his greatest hits to fill the Olivier or Lyttelton. 

So, it is left to the likes of the Orange Tree (previously also with their Shaw plays) and Jamie Lloyd (with his commercial season of Pinter short plays) to do the job for them. The Finborough are also good in this respect.