Sir Noël Coward

Sir Noël Coward achieved great success as an actor, playwright, director and songwriter, renowned for his flamboyance and wit. He wrote more than 50 plays and composed hundreds of songs, and is best known for his comedies of manners, many of which are still regularly performed today. He was a child prodigy and made his first professional debut at 12 years old.

A blue plaque at 131 Waldegrave Road, Teddington, marks the house where he was born in 1899.

As the arts are so important to Richmond upon Thames you can often find on the anniversary of his birth and death local theatres celebrating with special performances of his shows to honour him!

Orange Tree Theatre

2024 marks the 50th anniversary of Noël Coward’s death and the 125th of his birth in Teddington, to celebrate Orange Tree Theatre are putting on the first complete revival of Suite in Three Keys for a generation.

You can choose between watching the full-length A Song at Twilight or the double-bill of Shadows of the Evening and Come into the Garden, Maud – or see all three plays in a single day to celebrate the final flourish of Coward’s glittering career.

A Song at Twilight is a full-length play about a famous elderly writer, reputedly based on Somerset Maugham, who faces blackmail at the hands of an ex-lover threatening to expose his secret past.

Shadows of the Evening and Come into the Garden, Maud form a perfect double-bill set in the same hotel suite. Shadows of the Evening explores the intricacies of a late-life love triangle, and Come into the Garden, Maud is a fizzing comedy about the misunderstandings between Americans and Europeans abroad.

Hampton Hill Theatre and Teddington Theatre Club

Hampton Hill Theatre is owned and managed by Teddington Theatre Club, one of the leading non-professional theatre companies in the South East of England. There are two theatre spaces - a main 197 seat auditorium and a smaller studio named after local playwright Noel Coward that can accommodate up to 50 for a production. 

2024 marks both the 25th anniversary of Hampton Hill Theatre and the 125th birthday of local playwright Noel Coward.

TTC is delighted to present a unique opportunity to enjoy this sparkling showcase of theatrical gems from Noël Coward: the Master and Teddington-born & bred.

Teddington Theatre Club is celebrating all week, with a gala event on Saturday 15th June.  They will also be staging rehearsed readings of all ten of Coward’s Tonight at 8.30 one-act plays: two contrasting plays each evening. Tonight at 8.30 offers a remarkable range of genres, locales and experiences! 

All ten plays have never been staged together since 1935… so this truly is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

See schedule below:

Monday 10th June – We Were Dancing / Shadow Play – directed by Bob Dilley

Tuesday 11th June – Fumed Oak / Family Album – directed by Mandy Stenhouse

Wednesday 12th June – The Astonished Heart / Ways and Means – directed by Jenny Hobson

Thursday 13th June – Hands Across the Sea / Still Life – directed by Rodney Figaro

Friday 14th June – Red Peppers / Star Chamber – directed by Sally Halsey

Tickets:  £10 per evening (one pair of rehearsed readings) or £40 for all five evenings (all ten plays)