Image via NTLive
Present Laughter starring Andrew Scott and Indira Varma is currently in cinemas courtesy of NTLive. Directed by Matthew Warchus, this Noel Coward revival sees both actors on Oliver award winning form as husband and wife. With Scott going hell for leather as middle-aged actor Garry Essendine, it is an unflinching look at celebrity from inside the eye of his storm. A whirlwind of insecurity who thrives on the validation of an adoring public, Essendine is self-absorbed, emotionally fragile, and prone to one-night stands. His inscrutable secretary Monica (Sophie Thompson) and street wise valet Fred (Joshua Hill) appease his ever whim without question, while Garry’s wife Liz forgives her husband’s foibles by administering the occasionally acidic retort.
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This being Noel Coward the escalating sense of farce is tangible. Garry is an unchecked tempest of theatrical overindulgence, channelled through Andrew Scott on scenery chewing form. In opposition, Indira Varma stays cool headed despite her husband’s indiscretions. Throw in the promiscuous Joe Lyppiatt, played with exotic abandon by Enzo Cilenti, and Present Laughter is transformed into a smoking hot contemporary revival. Beyond the farcical nature of this Noel Coward endeavour, there also no denying how pertinent this NTLive presentation feels right now.
Image via NTLive
What it means to be a celebrity today has changed. Being in the limelight is one thing, but success, now more than ever, feels undeniably fleeting. Not only that, but there is a degree of mystique which has disappeared since celebrity culture has changed so radically. Dramatic skill on any level has been diminished because of artistic freedoms. Something that once took armies of technicians weeks to create now takes half a day, while films are already being made on smart phones. Innovations are inevitable and actors live in fear of becoming obsolete, whether they drift out of fashion or simply grow old. This is the debate at the centre of Present Laughter that rings true throughout, fuelling Garry’s paranoia in between sleeping partners.
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There is no doubt that Andrew Scott and Indira Varma earned those Olivers. Their comic timing and chemistry is so on point that Present Laughter flies by. Aided and abetted by an effortless ensemble, this dynamic duo does nothing but dominant. Up on cinema screens none of the comedy is lost and it still feels intimate. This play also works because Coward weaves in a number of believable relationships that work well beyond any farcical elements. Still riding high off his success in Vanya earlier this year, Andrew Scott is in the midst of a creative hot streak that began 2024 with Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers. For audiences after more of the same, checking out Present Laughter during its limited cinematic run makes perfect sense. After all, there is nothing like re-living a Noel Coward classic in the hands of such a gifted ensemble, especially with Moriarty front and centre.
Image via NTLive
Present Laughter is in selected cinemas now.