Red Peppers
Encyclopedia
Red Peppers is a short comic play by Noël Coward
, one of the ten plays that make up Tonight at 8:30
, a cycle written to be performed across three evenings. In the introduction to a published edition of the plays, Coward wrote, "A short play, having a great advantage over a long one in that it can sustain a mood without technical creaking or over padding, deserves a better fate, and if, by careful writing, acting and producing I can do a little towards reinstating it in its rightful pride, I shall have achieved one of my more sentimental ambitions."
The play was first produced in 1935 in Manchester and on tour and played in London (1936), New York (1936–1937) and Canada (1938). It has enjoyed several major revivals, and has been adapted for film and numerous times for television. At the London première Red Peppers was played on the same evening as Family Album
and The Astonished Heart
. Like all the other plays in the cycle it originally starred Gertrude Lawrence
and Coward himself.
, The Astonished Heart
, Red Peppers, Hands Across the Sea
, Fumed Oak
and Shadow Play
) were first presented at the Manchester Opera House
beginning on 15 October 1935. A seventh play, Family Album
, was added on the subsequent provincial tour. The final three were added for the London run. The plays were performed in various combinations of three at each performance during the original run. The plays chosen for each performance were announced in advance, although a myth evolved that the groupings were random. Matinées were sometimes billed as Today at 2:30.
The first London performance was on 9 January 1936 at the Phoenix Theatre
. It was one of the best-received plays in Tonight at 8:30 (or Tonight at 7:30 as it was billed in Manchester, to reflect the earlier starting time in the provinces in the 1930s). Coward directed all ten pieces, and each starred Coward and Gertrude Lawrence
. Coward said that he wrote them as "acting, singing, and dancing vehicles for Gertrude Lawrence and myself".
Four of the plays in the cycle "break into spontaneous song ... in the most unexpected places". For the onstage scenes in Red Peppers, Coward wrote two pastiche music hall duets, "Has Anybody Seen our Ship?" and "Men About Town". Coward described the play as "a vaudeville sketch sandwiched in between two parodies of music hall songs. We always enjoyed playing it and public always enjoyed watching us play it, which of course was highly satisfactory."
The Broadway
openings for the three parts took place on 24 November 1936 (including Red Peppers), 27 November 1936 and 30 November 1936 at the National Theatre
, again starring Coward and Lawrence. Star Chamber was omitted. The London and New York runs were limited only by Coward's boredom at long engagements.
Major productions of parts of the cycle were revived in 1948 and 1967 on Broadway (including Red Peppers in 1948 but omitting it in 1967), 1981 at the Lyric Theatre
in London (Shadow Play, Hands Across the Sea and Red Peppers), starring John Standing
and Estelle Kohler
and at the Chichester Festival in 2006 (Shadow Play, Hands Across the Sea, Red Peppers, Family Album, Fumed Oak and The Astonished Heart). In 1971, the Shaw Festival
revived three of the plays (but not Red Peppers), and in 2000, the Williamstown Theatre Festival
revived We Were Dancing, Family Album, Hands Across the Sea (all starring Blythe Danner
), Red Peppers, Shadow Play and Star Chamber. The Antaeus Company in Los Angeles revived all ten plays in October 2007, and in 2009 the Shaw Festival revived the full cycle in 2009. In 1991, BBC
television mounted productions of the individual plays with Joan Collins
taking the Lawrence roles. The sheer expense involved in mounting what are effectively ten different productions has usually deterred revivals of the entire Tonight at 8:30 cycle, but the constituent plays can often be seen individually or in sets of three.
. Onstage at a provincial theatre, their act is a mess. In their act, George and Lily are dressed as sailors and sing "Has Anybody Seen our Ship?" In white tie and tails as a pair of flâneurs, they sing "Men About Town". Offstage in their dressing room between the two numbers, the argumentative couple "drink beer, eat steaks, comb their wigs, slang each other mercilessly and then join forces to slang the manager". They also slang the theatre's musical director, which backfires when he later vindictively speeds up at the end of their second number, turning their final exit into a disastrous scramble.
, directed by Anthony Pelissier
, Coward adapted Ways and Means, Red Peppers and Fumed Oak (the film was called Tonight at 8:30 in the U.S.) In addition to the 1991 BBC series, television adaptations of Red Peppers were released in 1937, 1938, 1958 and 1969. In 1954, Otto Preminger
directed a "Producers' Showcase" television production of Shadow Play, Still Life and Red Peppers (featuring Martyn Green
and Ginger Rogers
).
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
, one of the ten plays that make up Tonight at 8:30
Tonight at 8:30
Tonight at 8.30 is a cycle of ten one-act plays by Noël Coward. In the introduction to a published edition of the plays, Coward wrote, "A short play, having a great advantage over a long one in that it can sustain a mood without technical creaking or over padding, deserves a better fate, and if,...
, a cycle written to be performed across three evenings. In the introduction to a published edition of the plays, Coward wrote, "A short play, having a great advantage over a long one in that it can sustain a mood without technical creaking or over padding, deserves a better fate, and if, by careful writing, acting and producing I can do a little towards reinstating it in its rightful pride, I shall have achieved one of my more sentimental ambitions."
The play was first produced in 1935 in Manchester and on tour and played in London (1936), New York (1936–1937) and Canada (1938). It has enjoyed several major revivals, and has been adapted for film and numerous times for television. At the London première Red Peppers was played on the same evening as Family Album
Family Album (play)
Family Album is a short play by Noël Coward, one of ten that make up Tonight at 8:30, a cycle written to be performed across three evenings...
and The Astonished Heart
The Astonished Heart
The Astonished Heart is a short play by Noël Coward, one of ten that make up Tonight at 8:30, a cycle written to be performed across three evenings. The play, described at its first production as "a tragedy in six scenes", is told through a series of flashbacks in reverse order...
. Like all the other plays in the cycle it originally starred Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence was an English actress, singer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End theatre district of London and on Broadway.-Early life:...
and Coward himself.
History
Six of the plays (We Were DancingWe Were Dancing
We Were Dancing is a short play by Noël Coward, one of ten that make up Tonight at 8:30, a cycle written to be performed in alternating groups of three plays, across three evenings...
, The Astonished Heart
The Astonished Heart
The Astonished Heart is a short play by Noël Coward, one of ten that make up Tonight at 8:30, a cycle written to be performed across three evenings. The play, described at its first production as "a tragedy in six scenes", is told through a series of flashbacks in reverse order...
, Red Peppers, Hands Across the Sea
Hands Across the Sea (play)
Hands Across the Sea is a short comic play by Noël Coward, one of ten that make up Tonight at 8:30, a cycle written to be performed across three evenings...
, Fumed Oak
Fumed Oak
Fumed Oak is a short play in two scenes by Noël Coward, one of ten that make up Tonight at 8:30, a cycle written to be performed across three evenings. Coward billed the work as an "unpleasant comedy in two scenes"...
and Shadow Play
Shadow Play (play)
Shadow Play is a short play by Noël Coward, one of ten that make up Tonight at 8:30, a cycle written to be performed across three evenings...
) were first presented at the Manchester Opera House
Manchester Opera House
The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England is a 1,920 seater commercial touring theatre which plays host to touring musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is the sister to the Palace Theatre which is a similar venue in nearby Oxford Street at its junction with Whitworth...
beginning on 15 October 1935. A seventh play, Family Album
Family Album (play)
Family Album is a short play by Noël Coward, one of ten that make up Tonight at 8:30, a cycle written to be performed across three evenings...
, was added on the subsequent provincial tour. The final three were added for the London run. The plays were performed in various combinations of three at each performance during the original run. The plays chosen for each performance were announced in advance, although a myth evolved that the groupings were random. Matinées were sometimes billed as Today at 2:30.
The first London performance was on 9 January 1936 at the Phoenix Theatre
Phoenix Theatre (London)
The Phoenix Theatre is a West End theatre in the London Borough of Camden, located on Charing Cross Road . The entrance is in Phoenix Street....
. It was one of the best-received plays in Tonight at 8:30 (or Tonight at 7:30 as it was billed in Manchester, to reflect the earlier starting time in the provinces in the 1930s). Coward directed all ten pieces, and each starred Coward and Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence was an English actress, singer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End theatre district of London and on Broadway.-Early life:...
. Coward said that he wrote them as "acting, singing, and dancing vehicles for Gertrude Lawrence and myself".
Four of the plays in the cycle "break into spontaneous song ... in the most unexpected places". For the onstage scenes in Red Peppers, Coward wrote two pastiche music hall duets, "Has Anybody Seen our Ship?" and "Men About Town". Coward described the play as "a vaudeville sketch sandwiched in between two parodies of music hall songs. We always enjoyed playing it and public always enjoyed watching us play it, which of course was highly satisfactory."
The Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
openings for the three parts took place on 24 November 1936 (including Red Peppers), 27 November 1936 and 30 November 1936 at the National Theatre
Nederlander Theatre
David T. Nederlander Theatre is a 1,232-seat Broadway theatre located at 208 West 41st Street, in New York City . One of the Nederlander Organization's nine Broadway theatres, the legacy of the theatre began with David Tobias Nederlander, for whom the theatre is named.Built by Walter C...
, again starring Coward and Lawrence. Star Chamber was omitted. The London and New York runs were limited only by Coward's boredom at long engagements.
Major productions of parts of the cycle were revived in 1948 and 1967 on Broadway (including Red Peppers in 1948 but omitting it in 1967), 1981 at the Lyric Theatre
Lyric Theatre (London)
The Lyric Theatre is a West End theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster.Designed by architect C. J. Phipps, it was built by producer Henry Leslie with profits from the Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson hit, Dorothy, which he transferred from the Prince of Wales Theatre to open...
in London (Shadow Play, Hands Across the Sea and Red Peppers), starring John Standing
John Standing
Sir John Ronald Leon Standing, 4th Baronet is an English actor.-Early life:Standing was born John Ronald Leon in London, the son of Kay Hammond , an actress, and Sir Ronald George Leon, a stockbroker...
and Estelle Kohler
Estelle Kohler
Estelle Kohler is a British theatre and television actress. Born in South Africa, Kohler made a name for herself as a Shakespearean actor in England...
and at the Chichester Festival in 2006 (Shadow Play, Hands Across the Sea, Red Peppers, Family Album, Fumed Oak and The Astonished Heart). In 1971, the Shaw Festival
Shaw Festival
The Shaw Festival is a major Canadian theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, the second largest repertory theatre company in North America...
revived three of the plays (but not Red Peppers), and in 2000, the Williamstown Theatre Festival
Williamstown Theatre Festival
The Williamstown Theatre Festival is a regional summer stock theatre on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, founded in 1954 by Williams College news director, Ralph Renzi, and drama program chairman, David C. Bryant. The theatre was conceived as a way to use the Adams...
revived We Were Dancing, Family Album, Hands Across the Sea (all starring Blythe Danner
Blythe Danner
Blythe Katherine Danner is an American actress. She is the mother of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and director Jake Paltrow.-Early life:...
), Red Peppers, Shadow Play and Star Chamber. The Antaeus Company in Los Angeles revived all ten plays in October 2007, and in 2009 the Shaw Festival revived the full cycle in 2009. In 1991, BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television mounted productions of the individual plays with Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
taking the Lawrence roles. The sheer expense involved in mounting what are effectively ten different productions has usually deterred revivals of the entire Tonight at 8:30 cycle, but the constituent plays can often be seen individually or in sets of three.
Roles and original cast
- George Pepper – Noël CowardNoël CowardSir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
- Lily Pepper – Gertrude LawrenceGertrude LawrenceGertrude Lawrence was an English actress, singer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End theatre district of London and on Broadway.-Early life:...
- Alf – Kenneth Carten
- Bert Bentley – Anthony PelissierAnthony PelissierHarry Anthony Compton Pelissier was an English actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Biography:Pelissier was born in Barnet and came from a theatrical family. His parents were the theatre producer H. G. Pelissier and the distinguished actress Fay Compton...
- Mr. Edwards – Alan WebbAlan Webb (actor)-Biography and Career:Educated at Bramcote School, Scarborough, and RN Colleges Osborne and Dartmouth. He served in the Royal Navy.Webb's early days were spent performing with the Lena Ashwell Players , J. B. Fagan's Oxford Players , The Croydon Repertory Company , and the Old Vic-Sadler's Wells...
- Mabel Grace – Alison LeggattAlison LeggattAlison Leggatt was an English character actress.-Career:Born as Alison Joy Leggatt in the Kensington district of London, Leggatt spent the early part of her career primarily on the stage. Her first major film credit was as Aunt Sylvia in This Happy Breed , Noel Coward's homage to the British...
(Joyce CareyJoyce CareyJoyce Carey, OBE was a British actress, best known for her long professional and personal relationship with Noël Coward. Her stage career lasted from 1916 until 1984, and she was performing on television in her nineties. Though never a star, she was a familiar face both on stage and screen...
in New York)
Plot
George and Lily Pepper are a husband-and-wife act in touring music hallMusic hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
. Onstage at a provincial theatre, their act is a mess. In their act, George and Lily are dressed as sailors and sing "Has Anybody Seen our Ship?" In white tie and tails as a pair of flâneurs, they sing "Men About Town". Offstage in their dressing room between the two numbers, the argumentative couple "drink beer, eat steaks, comb their wigs, slang each other mercilessly and then join forces to slang the manager". They also slang the theatre's musical director, which backfires when he later vindictively speeds up at the end of their second number, turning their final exit into a disastrous scramble.
Adaptations
For a 1952 film Meet Me TonightMeet Me Tonight
Meet me Tonight is a 1952 omnibus British comedy film adapted from three one act plays by Noel Coward that are part of his Tonight at 8:30 play cycle...
, directed by Anthony Pelissier
Anthony Pelissier
Harry Anthony Compton Pelissier was an English actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Biography:Pelissier was born in Barnet and came from a theatrical family. His parents were the theatre producer H. G. Pelissier and the distinguished actress Fay Compton...
, Coward adapted Ways and Means, Red Peppers and Fumed Oak (the film was called Tonight at 8:30 in the U.S.) In addition to the 1991 BBC series, television adaptations of Red Peppers were released in 1937, 1938, 1958 and 1969. In 1954, Otto Preminger
Otto Preminger
Otto Ludwig Preminger was an Austro–Hungarian-American theatre and film director.After moving from the theatre to Hollywood, he directed over 35 feature films in a five-decade career. He rose to prominence for stylish film noir mysteries such as Laura and Fallen Angel...
directed a "Producers' Showcase" television production of Shadow Play, Still Life and Red Peppers (featuring Martyn Green
Martyn Green
William Martyn-Green , better known as Martyn Green, was an English actor and singer. He is best known for his work as principal comedian in the Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas, which he performed and recorded with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and other troupes.After army service in World War I,...
and Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
).
External links
- Photo from Red Peppers at musicals101.com