28th August 2026
Thame Players are delighted to be performing what is considered to be Noël Coward’s most controversial and risqué play, Design for Living, between 8th and 12th September.This sparkling, irreverent and radical drama was written in 1932 and banned in the UK for its daring depiction of a ménage á trois. It was first produced on Broadway to immense acclaim - with Coward himself playing Leo, it caused a sensation.
Moving effortlessly between Paris, London and New York, Coward’s witty, erudite and fantastically entertaining dialogue fizzes with humour and irony but also contains darker truths about the human condition. The New York Times called it,“Coward's cleverest play ... his technique has never been more dizzy or more deft."
Marcus Prince, who is directing this production of Design for Living, says, “It isessentially a play about the complexities of love in all its many forms. It remains as relevant now as it was in 1932. I have long wanted to direct it because its themes of sexual identity, personal freedom and the costs we pay for living outside of society’s norms seem so utterly contemporary. Italso delivers a very astute examination of the effects of success and celebrity on personal relationships. I am delighted to be directing it for Thame Players.”
Noël Coward, known by his friends as ‘The Master’, was a writer, actor, director, film producer, painter, songwriter, cabaret artist, and novelist. During the 1920s and 1930s, he wrote a string of successful plays, musicals and revues including Fallen Angels, Hay Fever, and Private Lives (the latter in partnership with Gertrude Lawrence). During the war years, his success continued, with plays such as Blithe Spirit (which ran for 1,997 performances), Present Laughter, and screenplays such as Brief Encounter, whichbecame a classic of British cinema.
Later in his career, Coward re-invented himself as a cabaret and TV star, and in 1955 he played a sell-out season in Las Vegas featuring many of his most famous songs, including Mad About the Boy, I’ll See You Again and Mad Dogs and Englishmen. In the1960s, Coward’s Hay Fever became the first play by a living playwright to be performed by the National Theatre. Later still, he was lauded for his roles in films including Our Man in Havana (1959) and his role as the iconic Mr Bridger alongside Michael Caine in The Italian Job (1968).
Ultimately, throughout his long and very distinguished career, one subject dominates Coward’s work and that is love - the most universal and powerful subject of them all and the one we often find the most complex to understand. Design for Living will be performed each evening at 7.45 pm at the Players Theatre, from 8th-12th September, with an additional matinee at 2.30 pm on Saturday 12th September. Book your seats now to avoid disappointment!
