Seagrove Faces Love Triangles, Volcano in Coward Play

Jenny Seagrove is back on the London stage in a production that promises much.

“Volcano” is an intriguing long-lost play by Noel Coward, which he wrote in 1956 and then suppressed because he thought it would alienate the friends it was based upon. There are love triangles galore and a barrage of witty one-liners.

The playwright was living in tax exile in Jamaica and was inspired by an affair between his friend Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels, and a plantation-owning society beauty.

Coward gave the drama an extra twist by setting it in a fictional British colony called Samolo, in danger from spewing lava and ash. As one character dryly says, it’s disconcerting when marital infidelity is mixed up with volcanic eruptions.

Seagrove is the estate owner Adela, who is in love with the charming Guy (played with raffish cool by Jason Durr). It’s no wonder that Coward thought twice about this portrait of Fleming.

Guy, a cross between 007 and Don Juan, lives to seduce any woman he meets. He is usually urbane but “as subtle as a fire engine” when it comes to sex.

Adela’s younger friend Ellen arrives. Guy is soon chatting her up. Then his steely wife Melissa (Dawn Steele) flies in from London: she is well accustomed to his serial romances.

“I know I behave badly,” he admits as they briefly embrace.

So far, so very genteel. The raging passions are hidden by English stiff-upper-lip reserve. The comedy of class and manners is shaken or stirred only slightly, probably less than the endless Martinis and cups of iced tea being drunk.

Cocktail Party

“Volcano” is like a slightly edgier version of T.S. Eliot’s “The Cocktail Party.”

Coward’s sophisticated sparring comes with plenty of raised eyebrows and understated jokes: “the most beautiful thing about having people come to stay is when they leave.” (The writer’s visitors at his hillside home included Laurence Olivier and Katharine Hepburn.)

The repartee threatens to get dull until the volcano starts rumbling. Designer Simon Scullion does an impressive job with crashing beams and flickering lights. The terrified house guests face tough choices: Run? Stay? And with whom?

The only problem is whether the audience really cares much who pairs with who, or who survives.

Rating: ****

What the Stars Mean:
*****      Exceptional
****       Excellent
***        Good
**         Average
*          Mediocre
(No stars) Poor

“Volcano” is at the Vaudeville Theatre, 404 Strand, WC2R 0NH, through Sept. 29. Information: +44-844-579-1975 or http://www.nimaxtheatres.com/vaudeville-theatre/volcano.

(Mark Beech writes for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

Muse highlights include Scott Reyburn on art, John Mariani on wine and Hephzibah Anderson on books.

To contact the writer on the story: Mark Beech in London at mbeech@bloomberg.net or http://twitter.com/Mark_Beech.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.

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'Volcano'

Keith Patterson/ Target Media via Bloomberg

Jenny Seagrove, from left, Jason Durr and Dawn Steele star as Adela Shelley, Guy and Melissa Littleton in the Bill Kenwright production of "Volcano," by Noel Coward at London's Vaudeville Theater. Adela loves Guy but is keeping her distance from him; Guy wants both Adela and his wife; Melissa is well aware of her husband's affairs.

Jenny Seagrove, from left, Jason Durr and Dawn Steele star as Adela Shelley, Guy and Melissa Littleton in the Bill Kenwright production of "Volcano," by Noel Coward at London's Vaudeville Theater. Adela loves Guy but is keeping her distance from him; Guy wants both Adela and his wife; Melissa is well aware of her husband's affairs. Photographer: Keith Patterson/ Target Media via Bloomberg

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'Volcano'

Keith Patterson/ Target Media via Bloomberg

Finty Williams plays Grizelda Craigie in the Bill Kenwright production of "Volcano," by Noel Coward at the Vaudeville Theatre in London. Grizelda has to chose between fleeing and staying with her husband when the volcano erupts.

Finty Williams plays Grizelda Craigie in the Bill Kenwright production of "Volcano," by Noel Coward at the Vaudeville Theatre in London. Grizelda has to chose between fleeing and staying with her husband when the volcano erupts. Photographer: Keith Patterson/ Target Media via Bloomberg

Enlarge image

'Volcano'

Keith Patterson/Target Media via Bloomberg

Dawn Steele plays Melissa Littleton in the Bill Kenwright production of "Volcano" by Noel Coward (at the Vaudeville Theater in London). The play is directed by Roy Marsden. Melissa arrives to check up on the affairs of her Don Juan-style husband Guy.

Dawn Steele plays Melissa Littleton in the Bill Kenwright production of "Volcano" by Noel Coward (at the Vaudeville Theater in London). The play is directed by Roy Marsden. Melissa arrives to check up on the affairs of her Don Juan-style husband Guy. Photographer: Keith Patterson/Target Media via Bloomberg