Noel Coward

“Good night my darlings, I’ll see you in the morning,” were his last words. “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” was his signature song. During World War Two, he entertained the troops overseas and did secret service work.

He was Noel Coward.

Watching Downton Abbey, The Grand Finale, (which I highly recommend), I realized that Noel Coward is one of the famous characters in the film, an actor playing Noel Coward of course, but nevertheless in the film and playing quite an important part in the story-line. I thought: “why haven’t I done an article on “Noel Coward” ?

Noel was one of the most famous English playwrights, composers, directors and singers in the history of theatre, with many of his plays still in our theatres today. His most famous plays which are still being revived today are: Blithe Spirit, Private Lives, Hay Fever, Present Laughter and Design for Living. All of these are described as “enduring staples of British comedy.” Noel’s witty dialogue and “smart set” settings still appeal to today’s audiences.

Noel was born in 1899 in Teddington, Middlesex. His father was a piano salesman and his mother was the daughter of a captain in the Royal Navy. Being the second of three sons, Noel was bitten by (what he called) “the theatre bug” from a very early age, appearing in amateur concerts from the age of seven. Noel had little in the way of formal schooling but this didn’t stop him from becoming an avid reader.

Although his father lacked ambition and the family finances were often poor, His mother would encourage her middle son by sending Noel to a dance academy in London. Noel’s first professional engagement came in January, 1911, when he played Prince Mussel in the children’s play “The Goldfish.” This led to several other plays, acting alongside such actors and actresses as Fabia Drake and Gertrude Lawrence who, Noel wrote in his memoirs: “gave me an orange and told me a few mildly dirty stories and I loved her from then onwards.”

Noel was 14 years of age, in 1914, when he became the protege of Philip Streatfield who was a society painter, and who introduced him to Mrs. Astley Cooper and her high society friends. When Streatfield died in 1915 of tuberculosis, Mrs. Cooper ‘looked after’ Noel, who remained a frequent guest at her estate, Hambleton Hall in Rutland.

During most of World War One, Noel continued appearing at the Prince of Wales Theatre until he was conscripted into the Artists Rifles in 1918. However, after 9 months, he was assessed as unfit for active service (because of a tuberculosis tendency), and was discharged on health grounds.

The same year, Noel appeared in the film “Hearts of the World” by D.W Griffith. It was an uncredited role but it was a start. Then Noel began writing plays. The first 2 plays were a collaboration with his friend Esme Wynne. “The Rat Trap” was his first solo effort, (1918), which was eventually produced at Everyman theatre, Hampstead, in October, 1926. It was during these years that Noel met Lorn McNaughtan who became his private secretary, serving in this capacity for over 40 years, until her death.

In 1920, Noel starred in his own play “I’ll Leave It To You.” It was his first full-length light comedy which went from Manchester to London, opening in London in the New Theatre, renamed the Noel Coward Theatre in 2006. The Times was enthusiastic: “It is a remarkable piece of work from so young a head — spontaneous, light and always ‘brainy’ .” Noel was 20 years of age.

‘The rest is history’ as they say. Over his 6-decade career, Noel Coward wrote and published over 50 plays and over 400 songs. This was his talent. He thoroughly enjoyed writing and viewed it as a central and passionate creative part of his life, sometimes finishing entire scripts in just a few days. Interestingly, although he composed songs, Noel could not read or write music. He ‘created’ melodies ‘by ear’, playing them on the piano and then hiring arrangers, (Elsie April or Peter Matz), to transcribe his tunes into musical notation.

But what about Noel Coward’s private life?

(Look out for the second article "Noel Coward --- His 'Private Lives' ")