Relative Values (play)
Encyclopedia
Relative Values is a three-act comedy by Noël Coward
. A satire of snobbery in all its guises, it deals with the clash of cultures between Hollywood stars and the English aristocracy, and with "the ancient and inaccurate assumption that, as we are equal in the eyes of God, we should be equal in the eyes of our fellow creatures."
It was first produced in London in 1951 with success, enjoyed several revivals and was made into a film
in 2000.
, and since Blithe Spirit
in 1941 he had not written any comedies (other than musicals). It seemed, after the war, that his idiom of "gay insouciance" was out of fashion. Relative Values marked his return to comic playwriting. It also came as Coward was just beginning a new career, for it opened just a few days after his personal triumph in his first "cabaret" show at the Café de Paris
. Relative Values was the first of several plays that achieved at least modest success, including South Sea Bubble
(1951), Quadrille
(1952) and Nude with Violin
(1956), although they failed to match the popularity of his pre-war hits.
on 28 November 1951, after a short provincial tour, and ran until 17 January 1953. The play, directed by the author, starred Gladys Cooper
as Felicity, Judy Campbell
as Miranda, and Angela Baddeley
as Moxie.
Relative Values did not have a New York production until 1986, when it was staged by the small Equity Library Theater. Sarah Brightman
played Miranda and Susan Hampshire
played Felicity in a 1993 revival at the Savoy. A Coward centenary production was given at the Bournemouth Little Theatre in 1999.
A film, based on the play
, was made in 2000, starring Julie Andrews
as Felicity, Colin Firth
as Peter, Jeanne Tripplehorn
as Miranda and William Baldwin
as Don.
Crestwell, butler to Nigel Marshwood, and Dora Moxton ("Moxie"), maid to Nigel's mother, Felicity, discuss the forthcoming marriage of Nigel to the actress Miranda Frayle. Crestwell is unenthusiastic but philosophical; Moxie is deeply unhappy about it and says she will resign. Felicity and a group of her friends enter. They too discuss the forthcoming marriage, with no enthusiasm. Nigel has been married before and they regard him as a poor judge of women. The friends exit, and Felicity tries to find out why Moxie is so determined to leave if Nigel marries Miranda. Eventually Moxie reveals the reason: Miranda is her younger sister.
Felicity and her nephew Peter Ingleton discuss the situation. Felicity is determined not to be parted from the indispensable Moxie. As it is out of the question that Moxie can continue as a maid in the household of her own sister, Peter suggests that Moxie should be promoted to companion to Felicity. They consult Crestwell, telling him what they propose and why. He brings Moxie from her room and the four discuss what is to be done. Crestwell suggests taking Moxie's transformation a step further, giving it out that she has inherited money and has resigned, and is staying at Marshwood House as a personal friend of Felicity's. Moxie is reluctant, but agrees that if this is only way in which she and Felicity can remain together she will make the attempt.
Nigel and Miranda have arrived from London. He and Felicity discuss Moxie's sudden rise in the world. He tries not to be snobbish, but is nonplussed by the thought of a former servant being on equal terms with the family. Miranda enters and makes polite conversation. Moxie enters, impeccably dressed and coifed. Miranda does not recognise her. To Moxie's suppressed fury, Miranda spins yarns about her upbringing and family, pretending she was a slum child with an abusive, alcoholic elder sister, whom, she says, she still supports financially. Felicity's dinner guests arrive and are confused by Moxie's new eminence. Crestwell encourages her to keep up the pretence.
Miranda's previous lover, the Hollywood actor Don Lucas arrives, uninvited and slightly drunk, hoping to regain Miranda's affections. Crestwell gives him a drink and urges him on. Don encounters Miranda and tries to woo her. Miranda asks him to leave. They are interrupted by the entrance of Felicity who invites Don to stay the night. Nigel is not pleased at having his former rival under his roof, but Felicity insists. Nigel announces that he and Miranda will be married by special licence the next morning. Moxie, still upset at Miranda's earlier lies, and determined that Nigel and Miranda will not marry, reveals that she is Miranda's elder sister and that Miranda's reminiscences are all lies: "Poverty and squalor, indeed! A London Cockney
born within the sound of Bow Bells! You were born in No 3 Station Road, Sidcup
, and if you can hear the sound of Bow Bells from Sidcup you must have the ears of an elk-hound!"
Moxie has announced her intention to leave at once. Peter and Crestwell, and then Felicity, continue to encourage Don in his pursuit of Miranda. Nigel is confused and distressed at the turn of events. His desire to marry Miranda has faded with the revelation that Moxie is her sister, but having given his word he sees it as his duty to go ahead with the marriage. Miranda is frustrated by her conversations first with Felicity and then with Nigel, and decides that she is better off with Don than as Nigel's wife (and Felicity's daughter-in-law). Miranda and Don leave together. Moxie and Crestwell celebrate the happy outcome with a glass of sherry. Crestwell proposes a toast to the status quo.
said, "The dramatist has left the players an empty third act, which vacuum they easily conceal. It all goes most pleasantly – with this team and with the author's guidance. But less perfectly played, Relative Values might be far less easy on the ear and on the eye than it now is." The Times
agreed, though judging the play as a whole "undoubtedly successful". The Daily Express critic wrote, "Its success is certain" but added, "I tried hard to convince myself that his impudent talent glinted here at its brightest. I am sorry I failed. The Daily Mirror
commented, "The play, despite flashes of wit (with Coward coming the old acid as only he can) was oddly unattractive.... Gladys Cooper nobly carried the whole on her talented shoulders. She almost presented it as vintage champagne instead of just – well, vintage. The Manchester Guardian noted that several things fell flat, including the toast at the end, and judged the play old-fashioned but done well: "The skill gives pleasure... never less than professionally neat, and often something much more – genuinely witty."
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...
. A satire of snobbery in all its guises, it deals with the clash of cultures between Hollywood stars and the English aristocracy, and with "the ancient and inaccurate assumption that, as we are equal in the eyes of God, we should be equal in the eyes of our fellow creatures."
It was first produced in London in 1951 with success, enjoyed several revivals and was made into a film
Relative Values
Relative Values is a 2000 British comedy film adaptation of the 1950s play of the same name by Noel Coward. It stars Julie Andrews, Colin Firth, William Baldwin, Stephen Fry and Jeanne Tripplehorn, and was directed by Eric Styles....
in 2000.
Background
Coward had been entertaining the troops and the home front during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and since Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit (play)
Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" . The play concerns socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to...
in 1941 he had not written any comedies (other than musicals). It seemed, after the war, that his idiom of "gay insouciance" was out of fashion. Relative Values marked his return to comic playwriting. It also came as Coward was just beginning a new career, for it opened just a few days after his personal triumph in his first "cabaret" show at the Café de Paris
Café de Paris (London)
Café de Paris is a London nightclub, located in the West End, beside Leicester Square on Coventry Street, Piccadilly.It opened in 1924 and subsequently featured such performers as Dorothy Dandridge, Marlene Dietrich, Harry Gold, Harry Roy, Ken Snakehips Johnson and Maxine Cooper Gomberg...
. Relative Values was the first of several plays that achieved at least modest success, including South Sea Bubble
South Sea Bubble (play)
South Sea Bubble is a play by British actor and playwright Noël Coward. It was written in 1949 but not performed until 1951. The play was moderately successful but failed to match the popularity of Coward's pre-war hits.-Background:...
(1951), Quadrille
Quadrille (play)
Quadrille is a play by Noël Coward. The romantic comedy premiered in 1952 and starred Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt. It played on Broadway in 1955, where Lunt won a Tony Award for his performance.-History:...
(1952) and Nude with Violin
Nude with Violin
Nude with Violin is a play by Noël Coward. A light comedy of manners, the play is Coward's satire on "Modern Art" and the value placed on art....
(1956), although they failed to match the popularity of his pre-war hits.
Productions
Relative Values opened at the Savoy TheatreSavoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
on 28 November 1951, after a short provincial tour, and ran until 17 January 1953. The play, directed by the author, starred Gladys Cooper
Gladys Cooper
Dame Gladys Constance Cooper, DBE was an English actress whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television....
as Felicity, Judy Campbell
Judy Campbell
Judy Campbell was an English light comedy actress and occasional playwright, Noël Coward's muse. Her daughter is the actor and singer Jane Birkin, her son the screenwriter and director Andrew Birkin, and among her grandchildren are the actresses Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon, the poet Anno...
as Miranda, and Angela Baddeley
Angela Baddeley
Angela Baddeley, CBE , born Madeline Angela Clinton-Baddeley, was an English actress best remembered for her role as Mrs Bridges in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs...
as Moxie.
Relative Values did not have a New York production until 1986, when it was staged by the small Equity Library Theater. Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...
played Miranda and Susan Hampshire
Susan Hampshire
Susan Hampshire, Lady Kulukundis, OBE is an English actress, best-known for her many television and film roles.-Early life:Susan Hampshire was born in Kensington, London, the youngest of four children. She had two sisters and one brother...
played Felicity in a 1993 revival at the Savoy. A Coward centenary production was given at the Bournemouth Little Theatre in 1999.
A film, based on the play
Relative Values
Relative Values is a 2000 British comedy film adaptation of the 1950s play of the same name by Noel Coward. It stars Julie Andrews, Colin Firth, William Baldwin, Stephen Fry and Jeanne Tripplehorn, and was directed by Eric Styles....
, was made in 2000, starring Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
as Felicity, Colin Firth
Colin Firth
SirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...
as Peter, Jeanne Tripplehorn
Jeanne Tripplehorn
Jeanne Marie Tripplehorn is an American film and television actress. She was brought to the public's attention through her supporting role in the 1992 film Basic Instinct, and since 2006 has starred opposite Bill Paxton in the HBO drama Big Love.-Early life:Tripplehorn was born in Tulsa,...
as Miranda and William Baldwin
William Baldwin
William Joseph "Billy" Baldwin is an American actor, producer, and writer, known for his starring roles in such films as Flatliners , Backdraft , Sliver , Fair Game , Virus , Double Bang , as Johnny 13 in Danny Phantom , Art Heist , The Squid and the Whale , as himself...
as Don.
Roles and original cast
- Crestwell – Richard LeechRichard LeechRichard Leech , born Richard Leeper McClelland, was an accomplished actor.Richard Leeper McClelland was born in Dublin, Ireland, son of Isabella Frances and Herbert Saunderson McClelland, a lawyer. He was educated at Haileybury and Trinity College, Dublin...
- Alice – Renée Hill
- Mrs Moxton (Moxie) – Angela BaddeleyAngela BaddeleyAngela Baddeley, CBE , born Madeline Angela Clinton-Baddeley, was an English actress best remembered for her role as Mrs Bridges in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs...
- Felicity, Countess of Marchwood – Gladys CooperGladys CooperDame Gladys Constance Cooper, DBE was an English actress whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television....
- Lady Hayling – Dorothy Batley
- Admiral Sir John Hayling – Charles Cullum
- The Hon Peter Ingleton – Simon Lack
- The Earl of Marshwood (Nigel) – Ralph MichaelRalph MichaelRalph Michael was an English actor. He was born in London, United Kingdom.His film appearances include: A Night to Remember, Children of the Damned, Khartoum, Grand Prix, The Assassination Bureau, and Empire of the Sun.Television credits include: The Adventures of Robin Hood, Dixon of Dock Green,...
- Miranda Frayle – Judy CampbellJudy CampbellJudy Campbell was an English light comedy actress and occasional playwright, Noël Coward's muse. Her daughter is the actor and singer Jane Birkin, her son the screenwriter and director Andrew Birkin, and among her grandchildren are the actresses Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon, the poet Anno...
- Don Lucas – Hugh McDermottHugh McDermott (actor)Hugh McDermott was a British actor who made a number of film and television appearances between 1936 and 1972. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1908 and made his screen debut in Well Done, Henry and followed it up with an appearance as HM Stanley in David Livingstone...
Act I
- Scene I: Saturday afternoon, after lunch
Crestwell, butler to Nigel Marshwood, and Dora Moxton ("Moxie"), maid to Nigel's mother, Felicity, discuss the forthcoming marriage of Nigel to the actress Miranda Frayle. Crestwell is unenthusiastic but philosophical; Moxie is deeply unhappy about it and says she will resign. Felicity and a group of her friends enter. They too discuss the forthcoming marriage, with no enthusiasm. Nigel has been married before and they regard him as a poor judge of women. The friends exit, and Felicity tries to find out why Moxie is so determined to leave if Nigel marries Miranda. Eventually Moxie reveals the reason: Miranda is her younger sister.
- Scene II: A few hours later
Felicity and her nephew Peter Ingleton discuss the situation. Felicity is determined not to be parted from the indispensable Moxie. As it is out of the question that Moxie can continue as a maid in the household of her own sister, Peter suggests that Moxie should be promoted to companion to Felicity. They consult Crestwell, telling him what they propose and why. He brings Moxie from her room and the four discuss what is to be done. Crestwell suggests taking Moxie's transformation a step further, giving it out that she has inherited money and has resigned, and is staying at Marshwood House as a personal friend of Felicity's. Moxie is reluctant, but agrees that if this is only way in which she and Felicity can remain together she will make the attempt.
Act II
- Scene I: Before dinner
Nigel and Miranda have arrived from London. He and Felicity discuss Moxie's sudden rise in the world. He tries not to be snobbish, but is nonplussed by the thought of a former servant being on equal terms with the family. Miranda enters and makes polite conversation. Moxie enters, impeccably dressed and coifed. Miranda does not recognise her. To Moxie's suppressed fury, Miranda spins yarns about her upbringing and family, pretending she was a slum child with an abusive, alcoholic elder sister, whom, she says, she still supports financially. Felicity's dinner guests arrive and are confused by Moxie's new eminence. Crestwell encourages her to keep up the pretence.
- Scene II: After dinner
Miranda's previous lover, the Hollywood actor Don Lucas arrives, uninvited and slightly drunk, hoping to regain Miranda's affections. Crestwell gives him a drink and urges him on. Don encounters Miranda and tries to woo her. Miranda asks him to leave. They are interrupted by the entrance of Felicity who invites Don to stay the night. Nigel is not pleased at having his former rival under his roof, but Felicity insists. Nigel announces that he and Miranda will be married by special licence the next morning. Moxie, still upset at Miranda's earlier lies, and determined that Nigel and Miranda will not marry, reveals that she is Miranda's elder sister and that Miranda's reminiscences are all lies: "Poverty and squalor, indeed! A London Cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
born within the sound of Bow Bells! You were born in No 3 Station Road, Sidcup
Sidcup
Sidcup is a district in South East London in the London Borough of Bexley and small parts of the district in the London Borough of Greenwich.Located south east of Charing Cross, Sidcup is bordered by the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bromley and Kent County Council, and whilst now part of...
, and if you can hear the sound of Bow Bells from Sidcup you must have the ears of an elk-hound!"
Act III
- The next morning
Moxie has announced her intention to leave at once. Peter and Crestwell, and then Felicity, continue to encourage Don in his pursuit of Miranda. Nigel is confused and distressed at the turn of events. His desire to marry Miranda has faded with the revelation that Moxie is her sister, but having given his word he sees it as his duty to go ahead with the marriage. Miranda is frustrated by her conversations first with Felicity and then with Nigel, and decides that she is better off with Don than as Nigel's wife (and Felicity's daughter-in-law). Miranda and Don leave together. Moxie and Crestwell celebrate the happy outcome with a glass of sherry. Crestwell proposes a toast to the status quo.
Reception
The press reviews were consistently enthusiastic about the cast but more guarded about the play itself. The ObserverThe Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
said, "The dramatist has left the players an empty third act, which vacuum they easily conceal. It all goes most pleasantly – with this team and with the author's guidance. But less perfectly played, Relative Values might be far less easy on the ear and on the eye than it now is." The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
agreed, though judging the play as a whole "undoubtedly successful". The Daily Express critic wrote, "Its success is certain" but added, "I tried hard to convince myself that his impudent talent glinted here at its brightest. I am sorry I failed. The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
commented, "The play, despite flashes of wit (with Coward coming the old acid as only he can) was oddly unattractive.... Gladys Cooper nobly carried the whole on her talented shoulders. She almost presented it as vintage champagne instead of just – well, vintage. The Manchester Guardian noted that several things fell flat, including the toast at the end, and judged the play old-fashioned but done well: "The skill gives pleasure... never less than professionally neat, and often something much more – genuinely witty."