Design for Living (a comedy play), written by Noël Coward (1899-1973), and produced at New York's Ethel Barrymore Theatre, on January 24th, 1933 and ran for 135 performances.

   Scenes from Design for Living (a comedy play), written by the English dramatist Noël Coward (1899-1973), and produced at New York's Ethel Barrymore Theatre, on January 24th, 1933 and ran for 135 performances. 

   This play concerns a trio of artistic characters, Gilda, Otto and Leo, and their complicated three-way relationship. Originally written to star Lynn Fontanne, Alfred Lunt and Coward, it was premiered on Broadway, partly because its risqué subject matter was thought unacceptable to the official censor in London.

   Design for Living moved to the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York City on January 24, 1933, after opening at the Hanna Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio, on January 2. Although the play is high comedy, indirectly it reflects the grim world of the 1930’s, a world in which frivolous laughter barely conceals despair. 

Lynn Fontanne, Gladys Henson, Ethel Borden, Alan Campbell, Noel Coward, and Alfred Lunt in Design for Living.

Noël Coward and Lynn Fontanne in the original Broadway production of "Design for Living."

Lunt, Coward and Fontanne in Design for Living

The play starred ALFRED LUNT, LYNN FONTANNE and NOEL COWARD and featured CAMPBELL GULLAN, GLADYS HENSON, PHILIP TONGE, WARD BISHOP, ETHEL BORDEN, PHYLLIS CONNARD, ALAN CAMPBELL and MACLEARY STINNETT.

Landed Gentry (A Comedy in Four Acts) written by Somerset Maugham and produced at at the Duke of York’s Theatre as Grace, on October 15, 1910.

   Landed Gentry (A Comedy in Four Acts) written by the British playwright Somerset Maugham and produced at at the Duke of York’s Theatre as Grace, on October 15, 1910. 

   The play was written in 1910 and performed in the same year, on October 15, at the Duke of York’s Theatre as Grace. Like The Unattainable, it was performed under a gentler title and then changed to a more telling one in the published version. 

   New York Times :  1910/10/16 · archivesNEW MAUGHAM PLAY STAGED.; " Grace," Produced at Duke of York ...  LONDON, Oct. 15. -- A new play by N. Somerset Maugham was produced to-night at Charles Frohman's Duke of York's Theatre.

Dennis Eadie & Irene Vanbrugh as Claude & Grace Insoley 

The Drawing-Room at Kenyon-Fulton, Grace by Somerset Maugham

The most dramatic scene

What should Grace do?

The Play Pictorial - Grace, W. Somerset Maugham

Mr. Pim Passes By (1919) written by Alan Alexander Milne (1882 - 1956), and produced in Germany in 1932.

Scenes from Mr. Pim Passes By (1919) written by the British playwright Alan Alexander Milne (1882 - 1956), and produced in Germany in 1932.

Wassmann, Hans - Actor, Germany, with (from left) Kitty Aschenbach, Kaethe Haak, n.n., Eduard von Winterstein, Adele Sandrock in the play 'Mister Pim passes by' 

Cavalcade, written by Noël Coward (1899-1973), and produced at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, from 13th October 1931 to 10th September 1932.

Scenes from Cavalcade, written by the English dramatist Noël Coward (1899-1973), and produced, with its cast of 400, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London,  from 13th October 1931 to 10th September 1932.

Noel Coward’s play Cavalcade and its cast of 400 opens at the Drury Lane because of the theatre’s size and technical capacity. The 6 hydraulic lifts and space for lighting and flying effects made this one of the season’s most popular production

Filming a performance of Noel Coward's play Cavalcade, Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, prior to making a film adaptation released in 1933, 1931. Illustration from Pageant of the Century (Odhams Press Limited, London, c1934).

(Left to right) Photograph of Noël Coward, maker unknown, early 1930s, London. Printed flyer for Noël Coward’s production of 'Cavalcade', 1932, Drury Lane Theatre, London. 

   'Cavalcade' is a dramatic film about an upper class English family and their servants, directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Clive Brook, Diana Wynyard, Una O'Connor and Herbert Mundin. It was an adaptation of the 1931 hit London stage play of the same name, by Noel Coward, which ran for 405 performances.

   The movie was a major financial success, grossing over seven times its production costs and it was also well received by the critics, being nominated for four Academy Awards and winning three, including Best Picture and best Director for Frank Lloyd. It was Lloyd's second Directing Oscar after winning in 1930 for 'The Divine Lady' and he would be nominated a third time for 'Mutiny on the Bounty' in 1935.

More information about Cavalcade

Home Chat, written by Noël Coward (1899-1973) in 1927 and first performed at the Duke of York's Theatre in London on 25 October that year.

   A scene from Home Chat, written by the British dramatist Noël Coward (1899-1973) in 1927 and first performed at the Duke of York's Theatre in London on 25 October that year. 

   Home Chat is a play by Noël Coward, written in 1927 and presented in London in the same year. It depicts the domestic affairs of a married couple and their family and friends, and revolves around an unjustified suspicion that the principal female character has committed adultery.

Alec Stone (George Curzon) finds Peter Chelsworth (Arthur Margetson) and Janet Ebony (Madge Titheradge) in seemingly compromising contact.

Further infomation of Home Chat

The Marquise (A Comedy in Three Acts), written by Noël Coward (1899-1973), and produced at the Criterion Theatre, London, from 16th February to 11th June 1927.

    A scene from The Marquise (A Comedy in Three Acts), written by the English dramatist Noël Coward (1899-1973), and produced at the Criterion Theatre, London, from 16th February to 11th June 1927. 

   The Marquise is a romantic comedy play by Noël Coward, written as a vehicle for Marie Tempest, who starred in the original 1927 production in London. Later players of the central role have included Lillian Gish, Celia Johnson, Moira Lister, Diana Rigg and Kate O'Mara.

Frank Cellier, Marie Tempest and W. Graham Brown in Act III, 1927

More about The Marquise

Hay Fever (a comic play, 1924), written by Noël Coward (1899-1973), and produced at the Phoenix Little Theater, in 1934.

A scene from Hay Fever (a comic play, 1924), written by the English dramatist Noël Coward (1899-1973), and produced at the Phoenix Little Theater, in 1934.

"Hay Fever" by Noel Coward at the Phoenix Little Theater. 1934