A confronting trilogy and a real marathon

Suite in Three Keys is a trilogy of plays written by Noël Coward and first presented in London in 1966. You might know Coward from his earlier works, for the most part comedies, such as Private Lives, Blithe Spirit and Present Laughter, all three of which have graced the stages of the West End in recent years. This trilogy, written much later in his career, consists of a double-bill Shadows of the Evening and Come into the Garden, Maud, alongside full-length production A Song at Twilight. The three were written to be watched together, and you can catch the lot at The Orange Tree Theatre until 6th July. 

Each of these plays are performed by the same group of actors: Stephen Boxer, Emma Fielding and Tara Fitzgerald take on different roles for each show, while Steffan Rizzi with his acoustic guitar and lovely voice remains constant as the hotel’s floor-waiter throughout. 

The plays are each set in the same luxurious suit of the Swiss Hotel Beau Rivage, on the shore of Lake Geneva. Set design by Louie Whitemore is elegant and effective – a desk and telephone, white chairs and sofa, and a drink stand filled with decanters and cut glass tumblers (which is much used by the cast). Lighting by Chris McDonnell is simple and unfussy. 

Shadows of the Evening, the first of the double-bill is a somewhat sordid story. George Hilgay (Boxer), a publisher, is dying of cancer. Troubled by the weight of the situation, Linda Savigfnac (Fitzgerald), Hugo’s mistress of seven years calls on his wife Anne (Fielding), in a state of desperation, unable to inform her husband of his limited time herself. Here we explore some heavy themes – religion, life after death, or lack thereof, an abyss of nothingness. The hefty subject of death is balanced out with comedy, which elicited ripples of laughter from the audience, but I felt a little as though (perhaps due to my being a young(ish) viewer) I was missing some of the jokes that others were picking up on. 

Come into the Garden, Maud, the second of the double-bill is more comedic. Fielding is explosive as Anna-Mary Conklin, a demanding, frantic woman from Minneapolis determined to impress her peers by hosting the perfect dinner. Conklin’s rich golf-playing husband is resigned to his wife, but when an old friend of his, Maud, an adventurous princess, turns up at the hotel a middle-aged passion is ignited. The pair find themselves sparking an affair.  This piece is the most satirical of the three, humorously emphasising cliched differences between rich Americans and Europeans of the era and drawing on Coward’s reliable go-to of a love affair. 

The final, full-length play, A Song at Twilight, was the most interesting and hard-hitting of all. Hugo, an ailing and bitter writer, is staying at the hotel Beau Rivage with his wife and translator Hilde. Carlotta, an actress who had an affair with Hugo years ago has arranged to meet him after a long time apart. Hugo’s true love of his life was a man named Perry, who Carlotta happened to be with when he died. Now Carlotta has love letters written by Hugo, and is determined to have them published, but Hugo is desperate to keep his homosexuality a secret. The story itself is quite heartbreaking – a man mourning, suddenly confronted with the loss of his ex-lover in a time when homosexuality was still considered a crime in his home country. It poses some interesting questions about the privacy of famous people  – Carlotta claims that it is only right that Hugo’s true life story is made public knowledge as he is such a successful writer – but is this fair, and what is the cost? 

Steffan Rizzi charms as Felix the floor waiter, his returning character becoming a comforting familiar face. An incredibly skilled actor-musician, he captivates the audience with his personable performance, despite being onstage for the least amount of time. 

Fitzgerald and Fielding are a fantastically dynamic pair, playing sharply contrasting characters in each piece, and balancing the drama brilliantly between them as they dance around Boxer, who does well as the man consistently caught between them. Fielding is excellent with her accents, a real chameleon in changing characters. The highlight of the three plays for me was Fitzgerald’s performance as the unapologetic, devious and self-righteous Carlotta. 

All three plays together come to around five and a half hours of theatre, which is quite a lot for one day. Although they are best to watch altogether, if I were to recommend one over the other, I would definitely get tickets to A Song at Twilight.