National Theatre: Hayfever

A comedy of bad manners.

It's loathsome being looked after. Last year, Judith retired from her life-on-stage. Already, she misses the applause. Idling away at their country home, the rest of the family—reclusive novelist husband David and failure-to-launch children Sorrel and Simon—are too self-involved to be a good audience. So, Judith invites a young fan as her guest for the weekend. But unbeknownst to her, each of the Blisses have a guest of their own arriving at the very same time. Completely unsuited to hosting and allergic to compromise, the house quickly erupts into a chaos of parlour games, put-downs, and unrequested encores. Hay Fever is an irresistible comedy of bad manners by the great Noël Coward. Emmy, Tony, Screen Actors Guild, and Drama Desk winner Christine Baranski makes her West End debut as the iconic Judith, sparring with Oscar-nominated legend Richard E. Grant in a stinging new production of Coward's comedy, directed by Emily Burns, and recorded at the Wyndham's Theatre in London, UK.

Running time: 2h 40mins with 1 interval