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Design for Living
Phoenix Theatre, London, 1973
Role: Otto
The 1973 revival of Design for Living opened in
London shortly after the death of the man who wrote the highly
acclaimed and wildly popular comedy --
Noel Coward.
Design for Living
premiered in 1932 and explored daring themes with its vibrant
characters. It concerns a threesome of bohemian characters --
designer Gilda, artist Otto and playwright Leo.
Lynn Redgrave played Gilda opposite Jeremy Brett as Otto and John Stride
as Leo. Gilda loves them both, and the play suggests that she shouldn’t have to choose between them.
The
Wikipedia summary of the play states:
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The play is darkly humorous throughout and filled with sparkling
trademark Coward quips and dialogue, but it explores deeper
themes that can seem controversial even today. Moral
justification for infidelity, analysis of the pressures of fame
on an unstable mind, and a strongly hinted ménage ŕ trois are
among some of the topics alluded to or tackled head-on in the
course of Design for Living; the fact that it was a roaring
success on its debut is testament to the play's excellent
structure and enduring wit.
Design for Living has been called an "actor's show" that places
huge demands on the players' talents.
The performance captured the attention of one very important theater-goer in
1973: Joan Wilson Sullivan saw Jeremy
on stage and declared, "That's the man for me!"
Jeremy recounted in a 1991 interview that, "It was there
unbeknownst to me that my beloved saw me. I didn't see her; she
only saw me on stage. ... She was there to see the play." Later
he asked her what appealed to her, and she said, "'It wasn't
what you said darling, it was the way you moved your groin.' And
I blushed."
REUNITING
In 1981,
Jeremy and Lynn participated in Remembering
Noel Coward, a tribute presented at the University of
Southern California in 1981. (Transcript
- PDF)
They would also perform together in a Coward-esque drawing room
comedy, Aren't We All?,
on Broadway in 1985
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