View source for Hay Fever (play)

{{Short description|Comic play by Noël Coward}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{italic title}}
[[image:Hay Fever.jpg|thumb|[[Marie Tempest]] as Judith with [[Robert Andrews (actor)|Robert Andrews]] and Helen Spencer as her children, 1925|alt=middle-aged white woman in large sun-hat, with young adult male and female kneeling to each side]]
'''''Hay Fever''''' is a comic play written by [[Noël Coward]] in 1924. Its first production was in the [[West End theatre|West End]] in 1925 with [[Marie Tempest]] as Judith Bliss. A cross between high [[farce]] and a [[comedy of manners]], the play is set in an [[English country house]] in the 1920s, and deals with the four eccentric members of the Bliss family and their outlandish behaviour when they each invite a guest to spend the weekend. The self-centred behaviour of the hosts finally drives their guests to flee while the Blisses are so engaged in a family row that they do not notice their guests' furtive departure.

The play's original production opened in London in 1925 and ran for 337 performances. Coward wrote the piece with Tempest in mind for the central role of Judith. In later productions the part has been played by actresses including [[Constance Collier]], [[Edith Evans]], [[Constance Cummings]], [[Rosemary Harris]], [[Judi Dench]], [[Geraldine McEwan]] and [[Felicity Kendal]]. ''Hay Fever'' has been continually revived in Britain, the US and elsewhere, and has been adapted frequently for radio and television.

==Background==
In 1921 Coward first visited New York, hoping to interest American producers in his plays. During that summer he became a friend of the playwright [[Hartley Manners]] and his wife, the eccentric actress [[Laurette Taylor]]. Coward wrote, "It was inevitable that someone should eventually utilise portions of this eccentricity in a play, and I am only grateful to Fate that no guest of the Hartley Manners thought of writing ''Hay Fever'' before I did".<ref>Coward (2004), p. 126</ref> Coward's biographer [[Philip Hoare]] and others also note elements of Evangeline Astley Cooper – an English eccentric of whom the young Coward was a protégé – in the central character, Judith Bliss.<ref>Hoare, p. 42</ref><ref name=dnb>Hoare, Philip. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/30976 "Coward, Sir Noël Peirce (1899–1973)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008. {{ODNBsub}}</ref> {{refn|Evangeline Julia Marshall, eccentric society hostess (1854–1944), married Clement Paston Astley Cooper, grandson of [[Astley Paston Cooper|Sir Astley Paston Cooper]], on 10 July 1877. She inherited [[Hambleton Hall, Rutland|Hambleton Hall]] from her brother Walter Marshall on his death in 1899, and there she entertained rising talents in the artistic world, including, in addition to Coward, the painter [[Philip Streatfeild]],<ref>Hoare, p. 39</ref> the conductor [[Malcolm Sargent]],<ref>Reid, pp. 89–90</ref> and the writer [[C. K. Scott Moncrieff|Charles Scott Moncrieff]], who dedicated his translation of [[Marcel Proust|Proust]]'s ''[[Swann's Way]]'' to her.<ref>Findlay, pp. 186 and 187–188</ref> When staying with the Astley Coopers, Coward kept careful notes of what his hostess said and how she said it, and much of the dialogue for ''Hay Fever'' (and other early Coward plays) appears to be derived directly from these notes.<ref>Magill, p. 632</ref> She said she went to his plays "because it amuses me to hear my remarks put into the mouths of actors".<ref name=Anderson>Anderson, p. 47</ref>|group=n}} The two women reacted very differently to Coward's caricature of them. Taylor was offended (either by Coward's Judith or the overplaying of the role in the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] production, or both),<ref>Lesley, p. 62</ref> and Cooper was much amused.<ref name=Anderson/>

Coward wrote the play in three days in 1924, at first giving it the title ''Still Life'' before adopting ''Hay Fever'' prior to the first production.<ref>Day, p. 75</ref>{{refn|Coward retained a liking for the earlier title and used it for one of the plays – a serious one – in his cycle ''[[Tonight at 8.30]]'' in 1936.<ref>Mander and Mitchenson, p. 313; and Day, p. 75</ref>|group=n}} He intended the star role, Judith, for the actress [[Marie Tempest]], "whom I revered and adored".<ref>Coward (1964), p. vii</ref> Though she found it amusing, she thought it not substantial enough for a whole evening, but changed her mind after the success of Coward's ''[[The Vortex]]'' later in 1924.<ref>Coward (2004), pp. 167 and 198</ref>

Coward introduces one of his signature theatrical devices at the end of the play, where the four guests tiptoe out as the curtain falls, leaving disorder behind them – a device that he also used in various forms in ''[[Present Laughter]]'', ''[[Private Lives]]'' and ''[[Blithe Spirit (play)|Blithe Spirit]].''<ref>Lahr, p. 71</ref>

==Original productions==
''Hay Fever'' opened at the [[Ambassadors Theatre (London)|Ambassadors Theatre]] on 8 June 1925, directed by Coward, and transferred to the larger [[Criterion Theatre]] on 7 September 1925; it ran for 337 performances.<ref>Gaye, p. 1554; and Mander and Mitchenson, p. 103</ref> Coward remembered in 1964 that the notices "were amiable and well-disposed although far from effusive. It was noted, as indeed it has been today, that the play had no plot and that there were few if any 'witty' lines."<ref>Coward (1964), pp. viii and ix</ref> ''Hay Fever'' opened the same year at the [[Maxine Elliott Theatre]] in New York; the star, [[Laura Hope Crews]], was accused of over-acting,{{refn|[[Alexander Woollcott]] wrote, "Laura Hope Crews was permitted to give one of the most disastrous performances I have ever seen in all my life".<ref>Woollcott, Alexander. "Second Thoughts on First Nights", ''[[Oakland Tribune]]'', 18 October 1925, p. W3</ref>|group=n}} not all the supporting cast were competent, and the production closed after 49 performances.<ref>Hoare, p. 154; and Mander and Mitchenson, p. 112</ref>

The original casts in London and New York were:
[[File:Noel-Coward-in-jumper 1925.jpg|thumb|upright|Coward in 1925|alt=young, clean-shaven white man in casual clothes]]
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: left; margin-right: 0;"
! scope="col" |Roles
! scope="col" |Ambassadors Theatre, London
! scope="col" |Maxine Elliott Theatre, New York

|-
| Sorel Bliss
| Helen Spencer
| [[Frieda Inescort]]
|-
| Simon Bliss
| [[Robert Andrews (actor)|Robert Andrews]]
| [[Gavin Muir (American actor)|Gavin Muir]]
|-
| Clara
| [[Minnie Rayner]]
| Alice Belmore Cliffe
|-
| Judith Bliss
| [[Marie Tempest]]
| [[Laura Hope Crews]]
|-
| David Bliss
| [[W. Graham Brown]]
| [[Harry Davenport (actor)|Harry Davenport]]
|-
| Richard Greatham
| [[Athole Stewart]]
| George Thorpe
|-
| Sandy Tyrell
| Patrick Susands
| [[Reginald Sheffield]]
|-
| Myra Arundel
| [[Hilda Moore]]
| Phyllis Joyce
|-
| Jackie Coryton
| [[Ann Trevor]]
| Margot Lester
|}

==Plot==
The action is set in the Hall of David Bliss's house at [[Cookham]], Berkshire, by the [[River Thames]].<ref>Coward (1964), pp. 1, 43 and 77</ref>

===Act I===
;A Saturday afternoon in June
[[File:Marie-Tempest-in-Hay-Fever.jpg|Judith Bliss ([[Marie Tempest]]) strikes a pose, 1925|thumb|alt=middle aged white woman, extravagantly dressed, striking a theatrical pose]]
Sorel and Simon Bliss, a brother and sister, exchange artistic and bohemian dialogue. Judith, their mother, displays the absent-minded theatricality of a retired star actress, and David, their father, a novelist, is concentrating on finishing his latest book. Each of the four members of the Bliss family, without consulting the others, has invited a guest for the weekend. Judith announces that she has decided to return to the stage in one of her old hits, ''Love's Whirlwind''. She and Sorel and Simon amuse themselves acting out a melodramatic passage from the play beginning, "Is this a game?" "Yes, and a game that must be played to the finish!"<ref>Coward (1964), p. 16</ref> They are interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.<ref>Coward (1964), p. 17</ref>

Clara, Judith's former dresser and now her housekeeper, opens the door to the first of the four guests, Sandy Tyrell, a sporty fan of Judith's. The next arrival is the vampish Myra Arundel, whom Simon has invited. The other two guests arrive together: Richard Greatham, a diplomat, and Jackie Coryton, a brainless but good-hearted young [[flapper]]. Tea is served. Conversation is stilted and eventually grinds to a halt. The scene ends in total and awkward silence.<ref>Coward (1964), pp. 17–42</ref>

===Act II===
;After dinner that night

The family insists that everyone should join in a parlour game, a variety of charades in which one person must guess the adverb being acted out by the others. The Blisses are in their element, but the guests flounder and the game breaks up. Simon and Jackie exit to the garden, Sorel drags Sandy into the library, and David takes Myra outside.<ref>Coward (1964), pp. 43–60</ref>

Left alone with Richard, Judith flirts with him, and when he chastely kisses her she theatrically over-reacts as though they were conducting a serious affair. She nonplusses Richard by talking of breaking the news to David. She in turn is nonplussed to discover Sandy and Sorel kissing in the library. That too has been mere flirtation, but both Judith and Sorel enjoy themselves by exaggerating it. Judith gives a performance nobly renouncing her claim on Sandy, and exits. Sorel explains to Sandy that she was just playing the theatrical game for Judith's benefit, as "one always plays up to Mother in this house; it's a sort of unwritten law." They leave.<ref>Coward (1964), pp. 60–61</ref>

David and Myra enter. They too indulge in a little light flirtation, at the height of which Judith enters and finds them kissing. She makes a theatrical scene, with which David dutifully plays along. Simon rushes in violently, announcing that he and Jackie are engaged. Sorel and Sandy enter from the library, Judith goes into yet another bout of over-theatrical emoting. In the ensuing uproar, Richard asks "Is this a game?" Judith, Sorel and Simon seize on this cue from ''Love's Whirlwind'' and trot out the melodramatic dialogue as they had in Act I. David is overcome with laughter and the uncomprehending guests are dazed and aghast as Judith ends the scene by falling to the floor as if in a faint.<ref>Coward (1964), pp. 62–76</ref>

===Act III===
;The next morning

[[File:Hay-Fever-orig-prod-last-scene.png|Act III: the guests make their escape, 1925 production|alt=indoor scene with four people seated round a table, arguing, oblivious to the four people tiptoeing past them towards the door|thumb|upright=2]]

A breakfast table has been laid in the hall. Sandy enters and begins eating nervously. At the sound of someone approaching he escapes into the library. Jackie enters, helps herself to some breakfast and bursts into tears. Sandy comes out and they discuss how uncomfortable they were the night before and how mad the Bliss family are. When they hear people approaching, they both retreat to the library. Myra and Richard now enter and begin breakfast. Their conversation mirrors that of Sandy and Jackie, who emerge from the library to join them. All four decide that they are going to return to London without delay. Sandy agrees to drive them in his motor car. They go upstairs to collect their things.<ref>Coward (1964), pp. 77–86</ref>

Judith comes down, asks Clara for the Sunday papers and begins reading aloud what the gossip columns say about her. The rest of her family enter. David proposes to read them the final chapter of his novel. Immediately, a minor detail about the geography of Paris is blown into a full-scale family row, with everyone talking at once about whether the [[Rue Saint-Honoré]] does or does not connect with the [[Place de la Concorde]] and hurling insults at each other. They are so wrapped up in their private row that they do not notice when the four visitors tiptoe down the stairs and out of the house. The Blisses are only momentarily distracted when the slam of the door alerts them to the flight of their guests. Judith comments, "How very rude!" and David adds, "People really do behave in the most extraordinary manner these days." Then, with no further thought of their four tormented guests, they happily return to David's manuscript and to what passes for their normal family life.<ref>Coward (1964), pp. 87–96</ref>

==Revivals==
===West End===
The first London revival was in 1933 at the [[Shaftesbury Theatre (1888)|Shaftesbury Theatre]] with [[Constance Collier]] as Judith.<ref>Mander and Mitchenson, p. 103</ref> In 1941 the piece was revived at the [[Vaudeville Theatre]] in a repertory series of English comedies.<ref>Mander and Mitchenson, p. 104</ref>

A 1964 production at [[The Old Vic]] was the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre Company]]'s first production by a living author.<ref>Mander and Mitchenson, p. 110</ref> It was directed by Coward, and starred [[Edith Evans]] as Judith. The rest of the cast comprised [[Derek Jacobi]] as Simon, [[Maggie Smith]] as Myra, [[Barbara Hicks]] as Clara, [[Anthony Nicholls (actor)|Anthony Nicholls]] as David, [[Robert Stephens]] as Sandy, [[Robert Lang (actor)|Robert Lang]] as Richard, and [[Lynn Redgrave]] as Jackie.<ref name=m111/> After being invited to direct the production, Coward wrote, "I am thrilled and flattered and frankly a little flabbergasted that the National Theatre should have had the curious perceptiveness to choose a very early play of mine and to give it a cast that could play the Albanian telephone directory."<ref>Morley, p. 369</ref> The last London revival in Coward's lifetime was at the [[Duke of York's Theatre]] in 1968, with [[Celia Johnson]] as Judith and a cast including [[Roland Culver]], [[Simon Williams (actor)|Simon Williams]], [[Richard Vernon]] and [[Prunella Scales]].<ref name=m111>Mander and Mitchenson, p. 111</ref>

A revival at the [[Sondheim Theatre|Queen's Theatre]] in 1983 starred [[Penelope Keith]] as Judith, with a cast including [[Moray Watson]], [[Donald Pickering]] and [[Abigail McKern]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theatricalia.com/play/2w8/hay-fever/production/w62|title=Production of Hay Fever – Theatricalia|website=theatricalia.com}}</ref> A 1992 revival at the [[Noël Coward|Albery Theatre]] starred [[Maria Aitken]] as Judith, with a cast including [[Abigail Cruttenden]], [[Maria Charles]], [[John Standing]], [[Carmen du Sautoy]], [[Christopher Godwin]] and [[Sara Crowe]].<ref name=m111/> A 1999 [[Savoy Theatre]] cast starred [[Geraldine McEwan]] as Judith, with [[Monica Dolan]], [[Stephen Mangan]], [[Peter Blythe]], [[Sylvestra Le Touzel]], [[Malcolm Sinclair (actor)|Malcolm Sinclair]], and [[Cathryn Bradshaw]].<ref name=thisistheatre>{{cite web|url=http://www.thisistheatre.com/londonshows/hayfever.html|title=Hay Fever – London theatre tickets and information for the comedy starring Felicity Kendal up to 1 August 2015|website=thisistheatre.com}}</ref> The 2006 [[Haymarket Theatre]] cast included [[Kim Medcalf]] as Sorel, [[Dan Stevens]] as Simon, [[Judi Dench]] as Judith, [[Peter Bowles]] as David, [[Charles Edwards (English actor)|Charles Edwards]] as Sandy, and [[Belinda Lang]] as Myra.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2006/apr/21/theatre|title=Hay Fever, Theatre Royal, Haymarket|first=Michael|last=Billington|date=21 April 2006|website=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2006/legit/reviews/hay-fever-4-1200516774/|title=Hay Fever|first=David|last=Benedict|date=25 April 2006|website=variety.com}}</ref> The following UK tour, in 2007, cast [[Stephanie Beacham]] as Judith, [[Christopher Timothy]] as David, [[William Ellis (actor)|William Ellis]] as Simon, [[Christopher Naylor (actor)|Christopher Naylor]] as Sandy, and [[Andrew Hall (actor)|Andrew Hall]] as Richard.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.birminghampost.co.uk/whats-on/find-things-to-do/beacham-hits-fever-pitch-3972946|title=Beacham hits Fever pitch|date=29 March 2007|work=Birmingham Post}}</ref>

A 2012 revival at the [[Noël Coward Theatre]] included in the cast [[Lindsay Duncan]] as Judith, [[Jeremy Northam]] as Richard, [[Kevin McNally]] as David, [[Olivia Colman]] as Myra, [[Sam Callis]] as Sandy, [[Freddie Fox (actor)|Freddie Fox]] as Simon, Amy Morgan as Jackie, [[Phoebe Waller-Bridge]] as Sorrel, and [[Jenny Galloway]] as Clara.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/arts/07iht-lon07.html|title=Noël Coward, Gloriously Revived|date=7 March 2012|website=International Herald Tribune|via=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://theatricalia.com/play/2w8/hay-fever/production/sj9|title=Production of Hay Fever – Theatricalia|website=theatricalia.com}}</ref> The 2014 touring production transferred to the [[Duke of York's Theatre]] in 2015.<ref>Gilbert, Jenny. [https://theartsdesk.com/theatre/hay-fever-duke-yorks-theatre-0 "''Hay Fever'', Duke of York's Theatre"], ''[[The Arts Desk]]'', 12 May 2015; and [https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/hay-fever-starring-felicity-kendal-transfers-to-west-end_36923 "''Hay Fever'' starring Felicity Kendal transfers to West End"], ''WhatsOnStage'', 15 January 2015</ref>

===Other UK productions===
While the play continued its first West End run, [[Eva Moore]] headed the cast in a touring production, which played to what ''[[The Stage]]'' called "phenomenal business" around Britain.<ref>"New Tours", ''The Stage'', 10 September 1925; and "Eva Moore In ''Hay Fever'' By Noel Coward", ''The Stage'', 17 September 1925, p. 21</ref> [[Phyllis Calvert]] headed the cast in a UK tour of ''Hay Fever'' in 1975.<ref name=m111/> A production directed by [[Michael Blakemore]] opened at the [[Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith]] in 1980 starring [[Constance Cummings]] as Judith.<ref name=m111/> In 1988 [[Googie Withers]] starred in a revival at the [[Chichester Festival Theatre]].<ref name=m111/> [[Dora Bryan]] played Judith in a UK tour in 1992.<ref name=m111/> A production by Alan Strachan opened at the [[Theatr Clwyd]] in October 1992 and transferred to the West End the following month (see above).<ref name=m111/> In 2010, [[Celia Imrie]] played Judith at the [[Rose Theatre Kingston|Rose Theatre, Kingston]], succeeded later in the run by [[Nichola McAuliffe]].<ref>[https://officiallondontheatre.com/news/imrie-shares-hay-fever-with-mcauliffe-111927 "Imrie shares Hay Fever with McAuliffe"], Official London Theatre. Retrieved 30 October 2022</ref> In 2014 [[Felicity Kendal]] starred as Judith in a UK tour with [[Simon Shepherd]] as David, [[Sara Stewart]] as Myra, [[Celeste Dodwell]] as Jackie, and [[Alice Orr-Ewing]] as Sorrel.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Billington |first=Michael |date=2014-08-27 |title=''Hay Fever'' review – hysteria rules as Felicity Kendal does Coward |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/aug/27/hay-fever-review-noel-coward-felicity-kendal |access-date=2023-10-18 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

===US ===
Collier played Judith in a 1931 revival at Avon Theatre in New York.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/hay-fever-11471|title=Hay Fever – Broadway Play – 1931 Revival – IBDB|first=The Broadway|last=League|website=ibdb.com}}</ref> In 1937 [[John Craven (actor)|John Craven]] starred in the play at [[Harold Lloyd|Harold Lloyd's]] [[Beverly Hills Little Theatre for Professionals]].<ref>''The Playbill'', New York Theatre Program Corporation, 1938, p. 22</ref> In a 1970 revival at the [[Helen Hayes Theatre]], New York, the cast included [[Roberta Maxwell]] as Sorel, [[Sam Waterston]] as Simon, [[Sudie Bond]] as Clara, [[Shirley Booth]] as Judith, [[John Williams (actor)|John Williams]] as David, [[John Tillinger]] as Sandy, [[Marian Mercer]] as Myra, and [[Carole Shelley]] as Jackie.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/hay-fever-2935|title=Hay Fever – Broadway Play – 1970 Revival – IBDB|publisher=The Broadway League| website=ibdb.com}}</ref>

[[File:Hayfever (23572640961).jpg|thumb|2015 student production of ''Hay Fever'' at University of Arkansas Theatre]]
A 1985 production at the [[Music Box Theatre]] in New York had a cast including [[Mia Dillon]] as Sorel, [[Robert Joy]] as Simon, [[Barbara Bryne]] as Clara, [[Rosemary Harris]] as Judith, [[Roy Dotrice]] as David, [[Campbell Scott]] as Sandy, [[Carolyn Seymour]] as Myra, [[Charles Kimbrough]] as Richard, and [[Deborah Rush]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/hay-fever-4388|title=Hay Fever – Broadway Play – 1985 Revival – IBDB|first=The Broadway|last=League|website=ibdb.com}}</ref>

===Other===
The play was translated into French with the title "Week End", and given at the Théâtre de la Potinière, Paris in 1928.<ref>[https://www.lesarchivesduspectacle.net/?IDX_Spectacle=18799 "Week End"], Archives du spectacle. Retrieved 29 October 2022</ref> It was well received by audiences and critics; one of the latter wrote that there was "a suggestion of [[Molière]]" about it.<ref>"Noel Coward", ''The Daily Mirror'', 4 October 1928, p.  11</ref> The first professional production of the play in Australia was given by the [[Allan Wilkie|Allan Wilkie and Hunter-Watts]] company at the [[Tivoli Theatre, Melbourne]] in February 1931, with Wilkie and Hunter-Watts as David and Judith.<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4256976 "Noel Coward's Hay Fever], ''The Argus'', 9 February 1931, p. 13; and [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4264165"Hay Fever at Tivoli"], ''The Argus'', p. 10</ref> ''[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Melbourne Argus]]'' commented, "The situations are handled deliciously, and the dialogue, highly polished and clever, is at times brutally cynical ... we leave the theatre wondering between our chuckles whether we have any genuine emotions left".<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4264165"Hay Fever at Tivoli"], ''The Argus'', p. 10</ref>

2014 revivals included one at the [[Stratford Festival]], Canada, with [[Lucy Peacock (actress)|Lucy Peacock]] as Judith, [[Cynthia Dale]] as Myra, and [[Tyrone Savage]] as Sandy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/toronto/article/Noel-Cowards-HAY-FEVER-Begins-Previews-at-Stratford-Festival-20140528|title=Noel Coward's Hay Fever Begins Previews at Stratford Festival|publisher=BroadwayWorld.com}}</ref>

==Critical reception==
[[File:Hilda-Moore-Hay-Fever.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.4|[[Hilda Moore]] as Myra, 1925|alt=caricature of a tall young white woman in 1920s dress]]
The initial notices in the British press were moderately favourable. Coward told a theatre colleague, [[Basil Dean]], "I'm very surprised it hasn't irritated the Press more – some of them actually seem to have been amused by it."<ref>Day, p. 115</ref> [[Herbert Farjeon]] in ''The Sphere'' said "''Hay Fever'' begins admirably, tails off, picks up, is disappointing because it is not better, and yet is pleasing because it is so bright".<ref>Farjeon, Herbert. "The Play's the Thing", ''The Sphere'', 20 June 1925, p.  360</ref> The critic in ''[[Tatler|The Tatler]]'' thought that on the whole ''Hay Fever'' was "most amusing ... there is no real plot ... but it is very funny".<ref>"At The Ambassadors", ''The Tatler'', 1 July 1925, p. 20</ref> ''[[The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News]]'' found the play "the best of fun ... Let us hope Mr Coward will supply more goods of this quality".<ref>"Our Captious Critic", ''[[Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News]]'', 11 July 1925, p. 86</ref> ''[[The Times]]'' said the play was "all, as usual, Mr Coward's fun. All the better fun, be it added, for being punctuated, as usual, with Mr Coward's wit", but thought it was essentially a vehicle for Marie Tempest's "brilliantly comic acting".<ref name=MM108>Mander and Mitchenson, p. 108</ref> ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' thought the first act promised more than the two later acts could deliver, and that although Coward's touch had not deserted him, "this particular jest does not quite come off", but it was a "very amusing comedy ... so light and airy".<ref>"Ambassadors Theatre", ''The Daily Telegraph'', 9 June 1928, p. 8; and "Criterion Theatre", ''The Daily Telegraph'', 8 September 1925, p. 12</ref> Reviewers in ''[[The Daily News (UK)|The Daily News]]'' and ''The Tatler'' both commented that Coward's choice of title seemed inexplicable.<ref>"Hay Fever", ''Daily News'', 9 June 1925, p. 4; and "At The Ambassadors", ''The Tatler'', 1 July 1925, p. 20</ref>{{refn|An American critic, [[Burns Mantle]], wrote, "why it is called ''Hay Fever'' I have not the slightest notion, unless it is because it may give you a headache".<ref>Mantle, Burns. "By an Actor for Actors", ''Chicago Tribune'', 11 October 1925, p. 51</ref> He predicted that the play would have little appeal to audiences "beyond the ''[[Vanity Fair (American magazine 1913–1936)|Vanity Fair]]'' crowd that has taken up the fascinating Mr Coward with such enthusiasm".<ref>Mantle, Burns. "''Hay Fever'' tickles an actor audience", ''Daily News'', 5 October 1925</ref>|group=n}} In 2010 ''The Times's'' theatre critic, though offering no firm explanation, commented, "In some productions one's eyes can stream, though only with laughter".<ref>Kingston, Jeremy. [https://www.thetimes.com/culture/comedy/article/hay-fever-at-the-rose-theatre-kingston-2nlmntb5t83 "Hay Fever at the Rose Theatre, Kingston"], ''The Times'', 29 September 2010. {{subscription required}}</ref>

After the first Broadway production ''[[The New York Times]]'' observed, "If Mr Coward had packed his play with half the humor the actors bring to their parts, ''Hay Fever'' might be steadily amusing; at present it has many colorless moments". Six years later, after the first New York revival, the same paper said that the play was "theatrical satire, and infernally delicate and accomplished. It is dry, subtle, mettlesome comedy, and it is enormously entertaining".<ref>Mander and Mitchenson, pp. 112–113</ref> After the 1985 revival opened, the paper said:
{{blockindent|In the unlikely event that you stop laughing and start thinking at the sparkling new Broadway revival of ''Hay Fever'' you may notice that Noël Coward's comedy has skin-deep characters, little plot, no emotional weight or redeeming social value and very few lines that sound funny ouf of context. All of which goes to show that some plays defy the laws of theatrical gravity. In this now 60-year-old jape Coward demonstrates that pure fluff rises.<ref>Mander and Mitchenson, pp. 113–114</ref>|}}

Coward was aware that the play lacked obvious witticisms. He commented:
{{block indent|To me the essence of good comedy writing is that perfectly ordinary phrases such as "Just fancy!" should, by virtue of their context, achieve greater laughs than the most literate epigrams. Some of the biggest laughs in ''Hay Fever'' occur on such lines as "Go on", "No there isn't, is there?" and "This haddock's disgusting". There are many other glittering examples of my sophistication in the same vein, but I shall refrain from quoting them ...<ref>Coward (1964), p. ix; and Lahr, p. 7</ref>|}}

In a study of Coward's plays, published in 1982, [[John Lahr]] called ''Hay Fever'' "the first and the finest of his major plays".<ref>Lahr, p. 57</ref> In 2014 [[Michael Billington (critic)|Michael Billington]] wrote of a new production: "I found myself wondering why, 90 years after it was written, Noël Coward's comedy still proves so astonishingly durable. I suspect it is because it combines astute observation with ironclad technique".<ref>Billington, Michael. [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/aug/27/hay-fever-review-noel-coward-felicity-kendal "Hay Fever review"], ''The Guardian'', 27 August 2014.</ref>

==Adaptations==
The play was broadcast on radio in 1937 in both the US ([[CBS Radio]]) and Britain ([[BBC]] radio, with Marie Tempest in her original stage role.)<ref name=m111/> In later BBC radio adaptations, Judith has been played by [[Athene Seyler]] (1952), [[Peggy Ashcroft]] (1971), and Judi Dench (1993).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20231018144536/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?order=first&q=%22Noel+Coward%22+AND+%22Hay+Fever%22 "Noël Coward, Hay Fever"], BBC Genome. Retrieved 29 October 2022</ref>

''Hay Fever'' was the first of Coward's plays to be televised: an [[NBC]] production in 1939 starred [[Isobel Elsom]] as Judith.<ref name=m111/> A UK television production in 1960 in ITV's ''Play of the Week'' series featured [[Edith Evans]] as Judith Bliss and [[Maggie Smith]] as Jackie Coryton. This version is not known to have survived.<ref>[http://lostshows.com/default.aspx?episode=6ac7eb2d-7211-4242-adc9-dc869717395e "Missing episode in programme ''Play of the Week''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808053848/http://lostshows.com/default.aspx?episode=6ac7eb2d-7211-4242-adc9-dc869717395e |date=8 August 2014 }}, lostshows.com</ref> ''The Times'' reviewed this broadcast, calling ''Hay Fever'' "Mr Noel Coward's best play ... one of the most perfectly engineered comedies of the century."<ref>Review, ''The Times'', 25 May 1960, p. 6</ref> Other members of the television cast were [[Pamela Brown (actress)|Pamela Brown]], [[George Devine]], [[Paul Eddington]] and [[Richard Wattis]]. Evans and Smith later played in the stage production of ''Hay Fever'' under the author's direction in the National Theatre Company's revival in 1964 with Smith switching from the ingénue role of Jackie to that of the vampish Myra.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/the-history-of-hay-fever-6105188.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220509/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/the-history-of-hay-fever-6105188.html |archive-date=9 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=The history of Hay Fever|date=30 March 2006|work=The Independent}}</ref> Another lost [[Play of the Month#Hay Fever|production of the play]] in the BBC's ''[[Play of the Month]]'' series was transmitted in 1968.<ref>[http://lostshows.com/default.aspx?episode=5244f0ae-2e2b-4215-9567-aef940e26886 "Missing episode in programme ''Play of the Month''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043704/http://lostshows.com/default.aspx?episode=5244f0ae-2e2b-4215-9567-aef940e26886 |date=4 March 2016 }}, lostshows.com</ref> This featured [[Lucy Fleming]] as Sorel, [[Ian McKellen]] as Simon, [[Celia Johnson]] as Judith, [[Dennis Price]] as David, [[Richard Briers]] as Sandy, [[Anna Massey]] as Myra, [[Charles Gray (actor)|Charles Gray]] as Richard, and [[Vickery Turner]] as Jackie.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120913121828/http://www.tv.com/play-of-the-month/hay-fever/episode/243878/summary.html "Play of the Month: Hay Fever"], tv.com</ref>

The BBC recorded another television production, which was first shown in the UK during Christmas 1984. This version stars [[Penelope Keith]] as Judith, Eddington as David, [[Patricia Hodge]] as Myra, [[Michael Siberry]] as Simon, [[Phoebe Nicholls]] as Sorel and [[Benjamin Whitrow]] as Richard.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7243909c|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311142141/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7243909c|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 March 2018|title=Hay Fever (1984)|publisher=BFI}}</ref>

==Publication==
''Hay Fever'' was first published in 1925 in the "Contemporary British Dramatists" series issued by the publisher [[Ernest Benn]]. Unlike some of Coward's other plays it had no dedicatee,<ref name=MM108/> but in 1964, when [[Heinemann (publisher)|Heinemann]] published a new edition with an introduction by the author, marking the National Theatre revival, Coward dedicated it to his long-time secretary, Lorn Lorraine.<ref>Coward (1964), title page</ref>

==Notes, references and sources==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=n}}

===References===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{cite journal |last= Anderson |first= Donald | title = A Hasty Kind of Genius: Noël Coward's Hay Fever | journal = Modern Drama | volume = 54 | issue = 1 | date = Spring 2011 | pages = 45–61 |doi= 10.1353/mdr.2011.0002 |url =https://doi.org/10.1353/mdr.2011.0002 | url-access = subscription }} {{subscription required}}
*{{cite book | last = Coward | first = Noël | title = Hay Fever | date = 1964| orig-date=1925 | location = London | publisher = Heinemann | isbn =978-0-435-20196-8 }} 
*{{cite book | last = Coward | first = Noël | title = Present Indicative | date =2004 |orig-date=1937|location =London | publisher =Methuen | isbn = 978-0-413-77413-2}}
*{{cite book |editor-last = Day |editor-first = Barry |year = 2007 |title = The Letters of Noël Coward |location = London |publisher = Methuen |isbn = 978-1-4081-0675-4 }}
*{{cite book | last =Findlay | first = Jean | title = Chasing Lost Time: The Life of C. K. Scott Moncrieff | date = 2015| location = London | publisher = Vintage | isbn =978-0-09-950708-6 }}
*{{cite book | editor-last = Gaye | editor-first = Freda  | year = 1967 | title = Who's Who in the Theatre | edition = fourteenth | location = London | publisher = Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons | oclc = 5997224 }}
* {{cite book | last= Hoare | first= Philip | authorlink=Philip Hoare| title= Noël Coward, A Biography | year= 1995| location=London | publisher= Sinclair-Stevenson | isbn= 978-1-85619-265-1}}  
*{{cite book | last = Lahr | first = John | authorlink=John Lahr | title = Coward the Playwright | date = 1982| location = London | publisher = Methuen | isbn =978-0-413-48050-7 }} 
*{{cite book | editor-last =Magill | editor-first =Frank | title =Magill's Literary Annual, 1997 | date =June 1997 | volume=2| location =Pasadena | publisher =Salem Press | isbn = 978-0-89356-297-7}} 
*{{cite book | last= Mander| first=Raymond |authorlink=Mander and Mitchenson|author2=[[Mander and Mitchenson|Joe Mitchenson]] | others= Barry Day and [[Sheridan Morley]] (2000 edition, ed.)| title=Theatrical Companion to Coward | year=2000|orig-year=1957|edition=second | location= London| publisher=Oberon Books | isbn=978-1-84002-054-0 }}
*{{cite book | last = Morley | first = Sheridan | title = A Talent to Amuse | date =1974|orig-date= 1969 | location = London | publisher = Penguin | isbn =978-0-14-003863-7 }}                      
*{{cite book | last=Reid | first=Charles | title=Malcolm Sargent: A Biography | location=London | publisher=Hamish Hamilton | year=1968 | isbn=978-0-24-191316-1 }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Hay Fever (play)}}
* {{Gutenberg |no=75666 |title=Hay Fever}}
* {{Internet Archive |id=in.ernet.dli.2015.210077 |name=Hay Fever}}
* {{Internet Archive |id=noel-coward-hay-fever |name=Hay Fever, BBC Radio 4 production, starring Peggy Ashcroft}}
* {{librivox book | title=Hay Fever| author=Coward}}
* {{ibdb show|id=4252|name=Hay Fever}}
{{Noël Coward musicals}}

[[Category:1924 plays]]
[[Category:Plays by Noël Coward]]
[[Category:Berkshire in fiction]]
[[Category:Cookham]]
[[Category:Plays set in England]]
[[Category:Plays set in the 1920s]]
[[Category:West End plays]]
[[Category:Plays set in mansions and country houses]]