Review: Hay Fever at the Mill at Sonning

The arrival of hayfever in the spring is not usually welcome but fans of Noel Coward will feel a tingle of anticipation as this Twenties comedy farce returns to the stage.

Set on midsummer's day 1925 in the living room of a country house in Cookham, overlooking Marlow, the whimsical three-act play revolves around the outrageously theatrical Bliss family as they endlessly ham it up for their weekend house guests.

It was written by Coward as a young man in his early 20s, inspired by Sunday dinners at the home of a Bohemian family who would subject non-theatrical friends to games of charades while volubly disdaining their efforts.

By his own admission it is not heavy on the great witticisms he was famous for in later works, so the story relies on the eccentricities of matriarch and fading actress Judith Bliss (Issy Van Randwyck), her author husband David (Nick Waring), and their adult children Simon (William Pennington) and Sorel (Emily Panes).

Four house guests-cum-suitors arrive for the weekend and we watch their increasing bewilderment and despair as they are subjected to the full force of the Bliss family's theatrics and bad manners.

Van Randwyck pulls that off with aplomb, enjoying many of the best moments as the weekend unravels, while pick of the house guests were Beth Lilly as the constantly terrified Jackie Coryton and Aretha Ayeh as feisty Myra Arundel, who finally flips at the family’s frolics and faux pas.

Special mention too for Joanna Brookes, who stole several scenes as the put-upon housekeeper Clara, complete with sharp putdowns, a saucy ditty and a bit of ukelele playing for good measure.

Coward’s script provides mild amusement, giving the actors room to put their stamp on the chaos in this crazy corner of Cookham.

Noel Coward's Hay Fever runs at the Mill at Sonning until May 13.