Theatre Review: Hay Fever at Wyndham's Theatre

I'm a theatrical cheapskate. I'm on all those last-minute seat-filler websites. I'll happily take a chance on an experimental play for a tenner a ticket or sit in an inexplicably unsold cheap seat at a major show. My philosophy is that the worst seat at the best show is preferable to the best seat at the worst show. But, once in a while, I'll splash out and pay full price.

When the email landed in my inbox that Richard E. Grant (!!) and Christine Baranski (!!!) would be performing Noël Coward's Hay Fever, I booked instantly. Yes, it's nice to see up-and-coming stars playing in a grimy basement, but sometimes you want 100% star power burning up the stage.

It was magnificent. The script stills draws gasps of outrage from the audience. The zingers ping around the stage. Baranski's matriarch channels her inner diva and dominates the stage while Lucy Karczewski subtlety undercuts all the pomposity thrown around.

The whole cast is superb, although perhaps a little under-rehearsed. The script is so tight that the few slips there were put a little brake on the frenetic pace. The set, costuming, and directorial deviations from the script are all perfectly in service of merriment.

I know the play is over a century old (!) but the wit is timeless. In a West End awash with Serious Plays dealing with Important Issues, it is delightfully refreshing to see something so silly and inconsequential. There's no deep trauma or challenging material, just the fascination of watching truly appalling manners. About the only content warning needed is for the copious smoking.

There is some interesting metatextuality having Sandy and Jackie played by non-white actors. Are the Bliss family so unbearably rude to them out of racism? It's certainly one reading of the script - and some of the lines certainly hint in that direction - but it could equally be their social standing which the Blisses find so distasteful. That's about as close as the production gets to modern social commentary.

I wanted light-hearted fluff performed by A-List actors - Hay Fever delivers just that. Noël Coward has an immortal ability to collapse an audience into helpless giggles, ably assisted by Emily Burns' inspired direction.

Pre-show and Post-show

As I've written about before, when people are paying West End prices, they deserve to feel like they're a valued guest - not cattle to be farmed.

On the run up to the Race For Space concert I attended the week before, I got regular emails letting me know about the performance, how excited the band were, and the like. Despite paying considerably more for a ticket, Wyndham's didn't send me anything. If I didn't have a reminder in my diary, I would have forgotten this show existed. I'm not saying I want a bombardment of emails - but a few messages to build excitement wouldn't go amiss.

Wyndham's Theatre is old - from an age where no one ever contemplated going to the loo, apparently. The gents are paltry and, to be frank, stank. The seating was well raked, allowing brilliant views - although the seats themselves were a bit tired and uncomfortable. Unlike other theatres, there was free WiFi which was good enough for uploading the obligatory selfie.

Pre-curtain there was period appropriate music. Charmingly the "please turn off your phones" announcement was also period appropriate. Much nicer than being shouted at by ushers. A special shout out to the glorious fire curtain - I won't spoil the surprise 😄

The programme was not too expensive at a fiver and full of content - rather than the usual explosion of adverts. Oddly, the theatre was also selling Hay Fever merchandise. I'm not sure how many people are desperate for a souvenir magnet of the cast…

Wyndham's certain do more than the base minimum - and it is a pity that is so notable. A pair of tickets in the stalls cost the same as a year of Netflix. Yes, seeing the stars in person is magical, and live theatre is exciting, and a laughing crowd elevates your enjoyment - but the toilets at home are nicer and the snacks are cheaper. Theatres need to deliver much more if they want to keep attracting new audiences.