A STAR QUALITY preview by director Sarah Ingram
It has been such an enjoyable experience to work with my talented and endlessly inventive cast to bring Noël Coward’s sparkling summer comedy Star Quality to life on the ADC stage, that it’s an added pleasure to share that process with you.
The main focus in rehearsals has been to work on the elements that make a Noël Coward play such a pleasure for our audiences. His style is famous for its sophisticated wit, snappy dialogue and exposing the foibles and pretensions of his characters. Focusing on these specific elements during the planning and rehearsal process has brought this to life as each character makes the most of their snappy one-liners and we explore the attitudes that reveal their motivations and social pretensions. We still laugh at these moments within the rehearsal room and know that you will too!
The second key element that we have focused on during rehearsals is to create the right sense of time and place so that we can transport our audiences to the world that Coward has created – the theatrical world of the 1950s. In Star Quality, he has drawn on his decades of ‘behind the scenes’ experience in the theatre to create a world of theatrical plotting, scheming and clashing egos. Exploring that era, we have been increasingly aware of the social attitudes that the play is based on and that bring to life the actions and reactions of this group of, quite honestly, very badly behaved actors (I hasten to add… in the play of course – not our cast!)
Finally, Coward's plays are also known for their fast pace, cleverly constructed characters and unexpected twists. Star Quality is no exception and these twists are evident in the personalities, resourcefulness and cunning of each character as they scramble for their moment in the spotlight! These very distinct characters and their clever, ruthless and determined fights for supremacy are what makes this play such a joy to rehearse, perform and enjoy as an audience.
Star Quality
by Noël Coward, adapted by Christopher Luscombe
Tue 29 July- Sat 02 August, 7.45PM & Sat 02 August, 2.30PM
ADC Theatre
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